The Mercenary
by Cosette 24601
Summary: A former mercenary for the White Witch has been on the run for 10 years, helping his sister and her family when her husband abandons her. However, as their money is running out, he is offered a well-paying job from the Tisroc which he decides to take: assassinate the High King and Queen Susan.
1. A Dangerous Deal

He ran his fingers up and down the blade, a smile slowly spreading across his face. It had been so long since he had held a genuine sword from Archenland, his homeland. Last time he had held a sword like this, he had been a double agent hiding in the Archenland army. Honestly though, he was simply glad he was going to be doing his old work again, something he hadn't done since he had worked for the White Witch. Since her demise, he had been on the run from the surprisingly efficient children kings and queens, which rather ruined his reputation as the best mercenary around. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that his first job since then was to assassinate two of the new Kings and Queens. Thankfully, they were older now. Darius wasn't so sure he would have had the heart to kill children. It would have reminded to much of the children he took care of. But the kings and queens were adults now, and it was the oldest two he was to kill.

It had been a week since the Calormen adviser Varash somehow found where Darius was living in hiding and approached Darius to make this deal.

* * *

_Flashback_

"I'm here, though I much rather not be," Darius said, walking up to the Calormen's with his arms crossed and glaring. He had only shown up because the letter Varash sent had made it clear that there would be repercussions should Darius not attend. And having done a job for Varash before, Darius was well aware he would follow through on the threat. "What is it? I no longer do mercenary work. And don't use your ridiculous Calormen flattery on me. I despise it."

"Ahh, Darius, the best, most esteemed mercenary-"

"No! I just told you, I no longer do anything like that. I have my sister and her children to think of. If I get captured or die, they have no one to support them. Not to mention, if anyone finds out I even met with an agent of the Tisroc's it could lead them to finding out my past and arresting me. And since meeting you here is endangering me right now, I think I will leave." He turned around and began to walk out, hoping that Varash just might leave him alone. He absolutely refused to do anything that may cause harm to his dear sister Lisette or her children. He owed his life to his older sister, so he could not refuse when she said she needed him to move in with them to help her care for her children after her husband left her. And he quickly learned to love his nephew and nieces as well. He would not do anything now that might put them in harm's way.

"What if the job I were to offer you could provide for them and yourself for the rest of your lives?"

Darius stopped walking. He and Lisette had been struggling for some time, especially since the fortune Darius made off of mercenary work had quickly disappeared as he paid people off when trying to escape the kings and queens. When he moved in with his sister to help her, he had only a little left and had to take whatever jobs he could find. Now that Lisette's eldest, Pheneus was able to work, it had lightened a bit for a little while, but then they had to move again because of suspicious neighbors, taking quite a toll in their savings. They were now barely making ends meet, but Lisette had remained adamant that Darius could not resort to his old ways to earn money and had to come by it with honest work. But even if they weren't struggling, the thrill of doing his previous work would have been sorely tempting.

_But if I die or am captured in the attempt, they receive nothing and have lost me. But if I should succeed, then no more worries. This one last job isn't wrong is it? I know Lisette despises this sort of work, but if it were to solve all our problems…_

"What is the job?" he asked, turning around slowly.

Varash grinned. "The Narnian High King and older Queen are going to return to Cair Paravel from Anvard in just a few days as they finish off the treaty. For obvious reasons, the Tisroc would not be happy with an alliance between two of our greatest enemies. Assassinate the High King and his sister and make it look like you were sent by Archenland to do it."

Darius instantly shook his head no. There was no way that job would go unnoticed. His family would have to go on the run for the rest of their lives. If Darius managed to actually do the job in the first place. "Absolutely not."

"But just imagine the reward we will give you. Riches beyond your wildest imagination. Jewels of-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Darius said, rolling his eyes. The Calormens who wanted to hire him always said the same damn things. "But what good are those to me if I'm dead? Even I can't get away with assassinating them. No deal."

"Your family will get the reward even if you are executed," Varash offered, in a desperate attempt to appease him.

"And if I die or am captured before killing them?" Darius said, crossing his arms. He was sorely tempted to take the job, exciting by the idea of the thrill of the hunt, the challenge it would bring, but was held back by his promise to his sister.

"Hmm…" Varash said, stalling for time. Darius turned and started walking away, knowing that if he stayed much longer he would give into the temptation. Varash began panicking.

"Wait, wait!" he shouted. The other Calormens interpreted this as an order to stop Darius from leaving the cave and blocked the exit. Darius narrowed his eyes. He had two daggers hidden on his person, but preferred to not cause any bloodshed and potentially draw unwanted attention to the area where he lived.

"What it is?" he growled, refusing to turn around.

"What we really need is them to believe Archenland has betrayed them. Kill at least one of them, make sure to imply you were sent by Archenland, and I promise your family will be compensated for your brave deed."

"And if I die or am captured before killing either of them?" Darius said, putting a strong façade but was sorely tempted by the reward and the thrill having this sort of job used to bring him.

"I trust that you are far too excellent at this sort of work for that. You've never failed the Tisroc before."

"What happens if I die or am captured before killing either of them?!" Darius growled.

"Convince them that you are part of an Archenland plot, and your family will be given compensation for your death. However, if the kings and queens should find out that Calormen was connected to the assassination, it will not end well for your family."

Darius finally turned around to face Varash. "I'm not going to sign on to do a job without rewards agreed upon beforehand in a contract, without the basic information, and without any weapons."

"So you will do it?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

* * *

Darius turned the sword over in his hand once more. He sheathed it and walked quietly into his house, tiptoeing to avoid waking his family. He grabbed a bag and stuffed it with some food for the journey. A grin slowly crept across his face. He hadn't been this excited in decades. Not only would this challenge provide for his family, but he could have his revenge for the kings and queens for forcing him into hiding for so long.

"Uncle Darius," a young boy's voice whispered. "What were you doing out so late?"

Darius froze. He turned around and saw his nephew Pheneus staring up at him. He knelt to look at his nephew in the eye.

"What I'm doing will change our fortune for the better. While I'm gone, you're the man of the house, you understand? Take care of your mother and sisters."

"Yes, Uncle Darius. Of course. I'll pray to Aslan that you come home safe."

"We're Archenlanders! We don't pray to Aslan! Besides, I highly doubt he's real," Darius hissed. _Not to mention, a little pointless to pray to Aslan when I'm trying to kill the High King and Queen._

"I'm going to pray for you anyways," Pheneus said, hugging his uncle. Darius ran his fingers through his precious nephew's hair, wishing he could give a proper good-bye to his family, especially in case he died.


	2. Attack from Archenland

"Oh King Lune, this ball was absolutely fantastic. I do hope you can come to Cair Paravel for our Christmas ball so we can return the favor. Spending this time with you was absolutely delightful, your majesty," Queen Susan gushed as she danced with King Lune. Although she privately felt that she would have run the ball much better than the Archenlanders did, she desperately wished to do any little thing she could to help strengthen the ties between Narnia and Archenland. The alliance had been made, but the interactions between the Narnians and Archenlanders during the ball had shown her that tension between the two groups was still high.

"Ahh, thank you, my Gentle Queen. It was entirely my pleasure, I assure you. I will put in every effort to visit you at Cair Paravel this Christmas, your majesty. Having you and the other Narnians here this past week has been an absolutely delightful treat and I will desperately count the days from when you leave until I see all of you again at the Christmas ball." Lune said jovially, bowing and kissing her hand as the song ended. "May I interest my Lady in a refreshment?"

"You may," Susan responded as he led her to a table. King Peter noticed and walked over to her.

"Sister, how goes it?" he asked.

"Excellent, dear brother. I have invited King Lune to our traditional Christmas ball and he seems very eager."

"How eager? In what way?" Peter said, dropping his voice and frowning. He was never happy when men seemed too happy to be around his sister.

"Oh, please Peter," Susan said quietly, reverting to a bickering sibling and dropping the refined Queen façade for a moment. "He's old enough to be our father and besides he's already married. And happily so, or so I believe. And eventually you will have to resign yourself to the fact that I will have to marry someday."

"Yes, someday," Peter sighed. "I just hope that day is a long time from now."

"Oh, Peter."

"Besides, I wish you had consulted with me and our advisors before inviting them. I don't quite trust them yet and would rather not have them inside Cair Paravel."

"Peter! We're in Anvard right now! We can't expect them to allow us inside and then shut them out!"

"You're right," Peter sighed, "Still, you should have consulted us first."

"Now quiet! King Lune is returning!" Susan whispered.

"Ah, High King Peter!" Lune greeted him. "I just had the pleasure of dancing with your beautiful sister! And her majesty graciously extended an invitation to your Christmas ball."

"It will be our pleasure to host you, your majesty. I can only hope our ball will live up to the high expectations this one has created," Peter said, faking a smile. He disliked exchanging frivolous pleasantries, but knew a friendship with Lune would be invaluable to Narnia.

"And our dear younger siblings will be simply delighted to meet you!" Susan exclaimed, genuinely excited.

"And I them," Lune proclaimed happily.

"If you don't mind, my sister and I will retire for the night. We have a long trip ahead of us in the morning," Peter said, extending his hand towards his sister, and gesturing to the other Narnians.

"But of course!" Lune said with a chuckle. "You have a long trip ahead of you, your majesties. Have a good night's rest and I hope you have a safe journey tomorrow. I certainly wouldn't want my new allies hurt on their travel home."

Peter frowned slightly at that last comment. He still didn't trust the Archenlanders, and worried that Lune's comment may be a threat rather than simple well-wishes.

The next day, he pressed the Narnians to travel as fast as possible, in case Archenland was planning on trying any treachery while they were travelling. Therefore, they were just within Narnia when they stopped for the night, making Peter much more relaxed.

"Brother, I would like to sleep under the stars, if you do not mind," Susan said with a smile.

"Of course. I will too, and anyone else who so wishes," he said with a grin. As it turned out, most of the Narnians wanted to sleep outside. It was warm enough that it was comfortable and the skies were clear enough that the stars looked simply majestic.

Susan stared at the stars, silently naming the constellations. Suddenly she saw a rustling in the forest and looked over and saw a man. An Archenlander, by the look of his clothes. She glanced over at Peter, but he was still fast asleep. She crawled over to where her horn was hanging and hid it in the folds of her dress. She didn't want to wake the others for no reason and after all, if she had her horn with her, how dangerous could approaching the man be? Even if he was dangerous, her horn could always call for help. She walked up to him, as he started disappearing into the woods.

"It's alright! I'm Queen Susan," Susan whispered brightly. "I'm a friend. I can help you if you're lost."

Suddenly she heard a thump behind her and felt a strong arm reach across her breasts and pull her backwards and a dagger being held against her neck. Susan could tell by the feel of his body against hers that her capturer was a man, probably only a bit older than herself. Her heart began pounding fast and she was sure the man could feel it. She bit her tongue to keep from screaming, not wanting him to use her as a shield against the Narnians attacking. There might be a chance that she could talk her way out of this.

"Oh, sorry," the man said, moving his arm from her breasts to nearer her neck.

"Usually people trying to capture me aren't so polite about protecting my honor," she observed dryly. The man chuckled.

"Not that it matters much. You'll be dead soon, unfortunately," a voice whispered. "I thought I had messed up when you saw me, but instead you practically deliver yourself into my hands. I supposed that's why _you_ have a reputation as the Gentle Queen rather than your Valiant sister. I'm actually hoping the next half of my job is more difficult, or else this all will be too dull," he said sarcastically. He pulled her tighter as she tried to struggle.

"Who are you? What are you after?" she asked, stalling for time as she strained to reach for her horn.

"You, your majesty," he said in a mocking voice.

"My brother the High King will reward you if you let me go," Susan said, calmly. She knew losing her calm demeanor would only be more likely to ensure her death.

"Not as much as Archenland will for your death!" the man said. Susan was shocked and frightened.

_So Peter was right to worry. But why? Lune seemed to want the alliance and friendship as much as we did! _Susan thought. She kept her wits about her however and managed to grab her horn.

"What's that?" the man suddenly said. He grabbed her arm before she could raise it to her lips and pried the horn from her fingers and tossed it aside. In the struggle for the horn, he temporarily loosened his grip on her and she managed to escape his arms. However, he quickly grabbed her long hair and twisted it between his fingers to pull her back.

"Not so fast, your majesty," the man said in a mocking voice.

"Please let me go," Susan cried, struggling and trying to pull away, but his arms were too strong. "My brothers and sister will track you down if you take me away and-"

"Well then good thing I'm not being paid to capture you. Just to kill you," he said, suddenly letting go. Susan hit the ground hard and looked up at the man, confused. He then drew a sword, and lifted it so he could kill her with one strong blow.


	3. A Strange Dream

**Thanks for the reviews! But I think I'll let that cliffhanger hang for another chapter teehee. :P**

Peter stirred. He thought he had heard someone call his name. He opened his eyes and saw he was in a grassy field. He looked around confused. He heard his name being called again and began walking. He walked past a hill and saw his sister.

"Lucy?" he asked incredulously. She was a little girl again.

"Peter! Peter!" she cried out, running towards him to give him a hug. He got down on one knee to be her height and hug her back.

"Peter, would you do anything for me?" she said, adorably smiling, showing a missing front tooth. She sat down and gestured for him to sit by her.

"Of course!" Peter exclaimed while sitting. "I love you!"

"Would you kill a stranger if it would help me?" she asked, suddenly sad.

"Why would you ask such a thing?" Peter said, drawing back in shock.

"Answer the question. Pleeeeease Petey pleeeeease," she said, giving the adorable dimpled smile that always made him melt.

"Of course I would. I would do absolutely anything for you! But why do you ask such things?"

"Why? Why would you hurt another family just to help your own family? Why would you kill others for me? That doesn't seem like its fair," she asked gravely, touching his cheek.

"I wouldn't want to, but I would do it. And no it isn't fair, but my family always comes first to me," he said reaching out to her. He then pulled his arms back as a blinding yellow mist came from inside of Lucy's heart and enveloped her. When the mist evaporated, there stood Aslan.

"Aslan? What happened to Lucy?" Peter asked in shock, quickly bowing reverently to the Lion.

"Lucy was never actually here. But remember what you said. And when other make the same mistake you just admitted you would make, do not judge them too harshly for their crimes."

"I don't understand. Edmund's handling all the court cases right now. Why did you come to me and not him?"

"Peace, Peter. You will understand when the time comes. Now wake, your other sister needs you."

Aslan breathed on Peter and he awoke, confused by what he had seen.

"Susan?" Peter whispered, knowing she would want to hear all about Aslan's visit. Peter looked around for her. "Susan? Susan? Susan?!" He suddenly noticed her horn was gone. All thoughts about his strange dream vanished instantly and were replaced by worry for his sister's life.

"Narnians, awaken!" he called out. The various creatures groggily woke up.

"What is it?"

"It's not morning yet!"

"Susan's missing," Peter said. At the name of their beloved queen, the Narnians were all instantly awake and alert.

"Sire, I recommend we split up into small groups to search for her," a centaur named Levitus offered. Peter nodded and the centaur quickly formed groups, placing Peter with himself and two ferocious tigers in case someone was targeting the monarchs.


	4. The Fight in the Forest

"Well then good thing I'm not being paid to capture you. Just to kill you," Darius said, pushing the queen to the ground. She hit the ground hard and looked up at him. He was surprised to see not fear, but acceptance in her eyes. And something else… almost like she felt sorry for him. He then drew a sword, and lifted it so he could kill her with one strong blow rather than dragging it out. In previous jobs he sometimes sadistically dragged it out for fun, but now he couldn't see why he had ever found the pain of others to be fun. He almost didn't want to kill her. After all, he was no longer the hardened, ruthless killer he was before. He began to lower his sword.

"May Aslan have mercy on your soul," she said softly.

The name Aslan reminded him of his nephew and why he took this job. He swung his sword down.

He suddenly got tackled from the side by some flying furry object which was screaming, "I found her! Help!"

"What the-" he said as he realized he was being attacked by an oversized mouse. The mouse didn't weigh enough to knock him down, but was enough to make him loose his balance and his sword swing wide, missing the queen by a few inches.

"Stay away from her majesty, imbecile!" the mouse said shrilly, stabbing a tiny sword into Darius' side. A man suddenly ran up, sword in hand.

"For Narnia!" he cried, while swinging his sword at Darius. Darius brought his sword up just in time. He narrowed his eyes. The man looked fairly different from the drawing of the High King that Varash had shown him. But that wasn't too surprising since royalty often wanted their best features accentuated and any bad features to disappear when being drawn. His drawing was much closer to his actual looks though than any drawing of the Tisroc that Darius had ever seen.

The man faked to the right and then swung from the left. Darius easily intercepted it, not at all fooled by the fake. He saw the man's eyes glance down for a moment and took a second to look at his feet and jumped just in time to avoid being stabbed in the foot by the mouse. A much larger animal that Darius wasn't familiar with pounced from behind the bushes and knocked Darius over. He grunted in pain as the animal dug its claws into his chest. Darius braced himself and put all his strength into flinging the animal off of himself. He aimed for flinging the animal into the man and it worked! The animal flew off and hit the man in his chest. Susan screamed, terrified that they might die for her sake. The man dropped his sword as he fell over. Darius quickly grabbed the man's sword and poised the Archenland sword and the stolen sword over the man, ready to kill him. Maybe Darius wouldn't have time to kill the queen before the animals took him down, but he would have the chance to kill the High King and his family would be rewarded.

"No! Richard!" the queen screamed despairingly just a moment before Darius was about to cut off the man's head.

_Richard?_ Darius thought incredulously. This man wasn't the High King. _Since when do the Narnians have other humans in their employment?_ he thought furiously. Darius held the two swords above Richard's head, debating whether to kill this man anyways or not. He used to never care who was killed while he was doing his work, but he just wasn't as hard-hearted anymore. Richard looked up at him with frightened eyes, like prey that knows it's about to die. _It won't hurt to let him live,_ Darius thought, slowly lowering the blades. He then quickly used the hilt to hit the man on the forehead and knock him out. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. He turned just in time to see the queen creeping up behind him, dagger drawn and ready to kill. He blocked her dagger in time with one sword and used the hilt of the other sword to hit her arm so she would drop the dagger. Her eyes widened, but instead of running away as he expected her to, she dove for her horn and blew it. A beautiful crystalline sound filled the air.

* * *

The tree behind the man awoke slowly. He looked at the human appraisingly. The dryad then looked at Susan. She lifted her hand to show her ring that identified her as a queen of Narnia. The man seemed oblivious to the silent tree behind him. He walked over to Susan and raised his two swords above her.

"I'm actually sorry that I have to do this," the man said, surprising Susan with his words. She looked into his eyes and saw guilt there and knew the truth of what he said.

A moment later the dryad knocked the man down. Arianis, the leopard who had earlier attacked the man, got up shakily and prepared to attack.

"Wait," Susan ordered. "Do not kill him; let the tree knock him out." Arianis bowed to her queen despite being quite visibly eager to tear the man to shreds. The dryad used the trunk of his tree to deliver an extremely forceful blow to the man's head. He fell unconscious instantly and a red bump began forming on his head.

"I thank you tree. Tell me, what is your name?" Susan said to the dryad as various other animals started appearing who had come running at the sound of her horn.

"Kuruk, milady," he said bowing. "May I be dismissed to return to my sleep?"

"Of course, good tree," she said, waving her hand in dismissal. A moment later Peter ran in, too late to help, and was almost instantly at his sister's side.

"Susan! What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yes, brother. Tigers," she gestured to the Tigers who were flanking Peter on either side, "Please guard this man and make sure he does not wake."

"Did he attack you?" Peter asked, hand grasping the hilt of his sheathed sword. Susan knew when he touched the hilt it was for assurance, but when he grasped it he was about to act.

"Brother, wait before making any rash movements," Susan cautioned, looking pointedly at Peter's sheath. Peter moved his hand away but was still visibly tense.

"Did he attack you?" Peter repeated more firmly. "If he did, then by Narnian law-"

"Then by Narnian law he should be put on trial, not dealt with here in the forest," Susan interrupted. "And he did not succeed in killing me, so execution may not be the only option for him."

"Your majesty, he seemed incredibly dangerous!" Fezzichup, the mouse that had saved her said.

"Sir Arianis, Sir Richard, Sir Fezzichup, are you all alright?" Susan said. Peter's eyes narrowed, knowing his sister was purposely changing the subject. The three knights assured her they were fine, even though it was not entirely true.

"Then let us proceed to Cair Paravel," Susan said standing up. Two of the fauns rushed to her side to help her up. "I'm fine, thank you."

He turned to the Narnians to address them. "Friends, let us hasten on to Cair Paravel with all haste. The man may be acting alone or there may be others who are still to attack if we are not vigilant and do not move swiftly. Bind the criminal's arms and legs and tie him inside one of the carriages. If anyone is caught trying to speak to him or help him in any way, we will assume you have betrayed us. There is to be a guard of at least 2 creatures on him at all times. We will interrogate him at Cair Paravel."


	5. Return to Cair Paravel

Peter gave everyone a few hours to get themselves settled and refreshed from their journey before having them all come to council to go over the events that occurred. He rummaged through some of the paperwork that someone, most likely Mr. Tumnus, had piled on his desk. One of them caught his eye. It was a report from a squirrel that Calormens, some soldiers and one who appeared to be a Taarkan, had been seen with some male human of lighter skin color in a cave near Lantern Waste.

_That's strange,_ Peter thought. _Two incidents involving humans in Narnia?_

He walked down to the library.

"Bliss," he called to bluejay who ran the royal library, "Have a list created for me of all humans who live near Lantern Waste and a short summary of what we know about them. How long will it take?"

"About an hour, your majesty," the bluejay said.

"I will be at a private council. You have my permission to interrupt it," Peter said.

At the council, Peter instructed Susan to tell her story.

"So I went out to seek him, then he suddenly appeared behind me. He accidently grabbed me, um… here, and then apologized and raised his hand higher," she said, to much confusion. "Once he had put a dagger at my throat he made some comment about it being too easy and hoping the next half would be more difficult," Susan explained.

"Next half?" Edmund asked frowning.

"I have no clue. I asked him who he was and what he was after, and he only responded with 'You, your majesty.'"

"The assassin referred to you as 'your majesty'?" Oreius said confused.

"Yes, that is one of the reasons I think there is more to the story then I know of. If he was truly against Narnia or myself, he would not have said that," Susan responded, replicating Oreius' confusion.

"Continue with the story, Su," Peter said impatiently. "We can analyze afterwards."

"Alright," Susan said, figuring it was easier to not argue. "I told him you would reward him for letting me go, and he responded... with…"

"With what?" Lucy prodded after Susan trailed off.

"He said Archenland would pay better for my death." The room was dead silent at those words. After a few seconds the room started bursting into outbursts.

"Traitors!"

"But the alliance!"

"How dare they!"

"QUIET!" Peter yelled, pounding his fist into the table. The room instantly grew quiet. Peter took a second to take a breath and compose himself, knowing if he lost his temper the entire meeting would spiral out of control, like it had often done when he was younger and less in control of his temper.

"Peter, we cannot assume the assassin was at all truthful," Mr. Tumnus said. "We can't accuse our new allies without proof. I suggest we wait to point the blame until after we figure out the full story."

"I agree," Lucy said. "But we should proceed cautiously and keep a watchful eye on Archenland just in case. We just can't let them know we're watching them."

"Indeed," Peter said. "Sister, dear, continue recounting the events of that night."

"I tried to blow the horn but he caught my arm before I could. I threatened that you all would find him and I, but he said he was only being paid for my death, not my capture. Then he was about to kill me when this brave knight saved my life. Perhaps he can fill in some of the details at this point." She gestured toward Fezzichup who looked embarrassed by the attention and bowed.

"You honor me, your majesty," he said. "Sir Richard, Sir Arianis, and I were sent together in the search for the queen. We heard noises so I climbed a tree to get a better view before rushing in. I saw the criminal, the villain, the vile-" he jabbed the air with his sword at each insult. Peter reached over and grabbed his arm.

"Just tell what happened."

"Yes, your majesty. My apologies I didn't mean to get so carried away. I saw him about to kill our beloved queen so I charged ahead to stop him."

Richard and Arianis quickly interrupted him to give a more concise version of the events. At the end, they both apologized for failing to save the queen.

"There are few who would be able to against such a foe. You both fought magnificently," Susan said gently, touching each knight on the cheek. They both brightened at her praise and touch.

"Thank you my queen," they said, bowing to her.

"I will continue the story. The man was about to end Richard's life when I screamed out his name-"

"You know the man's name?" Edmund asked.

"No, Richard's name. Then he stopped, paused for a moment, then lowered the swords."

"What?!" said several of the Narnians.

"I did not understand his actions either. But I ignored it and crept up behind him with his dagger which he must have dropped earlier. He turned just before I was behind him and knocked it out of my hand. I grabbed my horn and blew it. He raised the swords above me and apologized for trying to kill me."

Every Narnian except those who had been there looked shocked at those words.

"Apologized?!" Peter and Edmund said simultaneously.

"Yes, and I saw guilt in his eyes. I believe he may have actually meant it. That is why when the dryad that my horn had awakened knocked the man down, I ordered him to knock him out rather than kill him."

"This is all very strange, sister," Peter mused.

"So a villain who tried to kill you, supposedly for Archenland, felt guilty about it, and wouldn't kill anyone but his target, you," Oreius said, trying to make sense of a nonsensical situation. The door opened and they all turned to see who had interrupted.

"Ah, Bliss, you have the information I asked for?" Peter said as the bird flew over to him, a paper dangling from his mouth by a string. He dismissed the bird and looked over the information.

"What's that?" Edmund asked curiously, leaning in towards his brother.

"Just reports on the humans living near Lantern Waste. Apparently there was suspicious activity there involving humans, so I requested information in case it was connected to this. Edmund, Susan, come to my room to go over this with me after we finish our meal. Interrogation on the prisoner will take place directly after."

"A-hem," Lucy said, glaring at him. "I'm not a little girl. I _will _be joining you for this."

"Peter, let her please," Susan said.

"Fine," Peter said, knowing arguing against both girls at the same time was generally futile.


	6. Interrogation

Darius looked around at his surroundings. Quite frankly, he had stayed in dungeons much, much worse than this. He had a bed that was actually relatively comfortable and warm. And they had actually given his decent food. Better than he had eaten in a while in fact, since he always made sure the rest of his family got the best parts of the meal. And he was given a sizable cell all to himself. Most dungeons Darius had been in – which was more numerous than he'd like to admit – were nowhere near as comfortable. Unfortunately, the security also seemed to be much more vigilant, and the dungeon seemed better designed for keeping people in. Darius had been thoroughly searched earlier and those dratted animals managed to find even his most hidden weapons, something that rarely happened. It would be tricky trying to escape from here.

He heard the sounds down the hall. The door to his cell opened and two minotaurs grabbed him and chained his arms and feet together.

"Move," one of them said, prodding him forward. They marched down the hallway and went into a room marked "Interrogation Room." _Who the heck labels stuff like that?_ He glanced behind himself and shook his head when he realized his room was labeled "Prison Cell #4." _Someone is way too into labels. Weird. _The minotaur knocked and the High King opened the door with a look of disgust at Darius, who lowered his eyes. _So the drawing didn't exaggerate. Darn. This is definitely the guy. _Darius quickly took in his new surroundings to see if there was anything helpful. He was surprised to not see torture equipment. It was actually a cozy looking room. He would've though he was in a living room if it wasn't for the sign outside. _Maybe that's why all the labeling. So one wouldn't think it's a living room,_ he thought sarcastically.

"Chain him to the chair," the High King ordered, pointing at a wooden, cushioned chair in the center of the room. _And who thinks cushioned chairs are appropriate for interrogation? Not that I'm complaining. _The minotaurs unchained the chains between his arms and legs and reattached them to the chair and then stood guard on either side of him. _They seriously think of everything… damn. _

"I'm Peter," the High King said, "This is my sister Susan, although it seems you are familiar with who she is based on what you said in your attack, my brother Edmund, and my sister Lucy."

_No titles? Usually the royals are all about telling all of their annoying long titles. Maybe they just want to get my execution over with quick. Which means I need to work even harder to kill them sooner. _

"General Oreius is the centaur over there, and Captain Sirius is the faun here. The minotaurs there are Killroy and Bernadette."

"Really? Bernadette?" Darius said surprised before he could stop himself. _A female minotaur? And what a misnomer. _

Bernadette snarled at him.

"But we are at a disadvantage here now, for you know our names but we do not know yours," he continued.

"And what makes you think I'll tell you anything, your majesty," Darius sneered.

"At the very least, what would you like use to refer to you as?" he said after taking a deep breath. Darius was surprised. He had been trying to get a reaction out of the High King so that he would act on emotion. People acting out of anger, or annoyance, or anything similar usually made stupid mistakes that Darius could then exploit.

"Usually when I'm being interrogated I'm referred to by insults and such," Darius said, still determined to be difficult, no matter how kind the royals might be acting.

"That is not the Narnian way," Susan said imperiously. Darius turned his head to really look at her for the first time. She had cleaned up since the trip. She was pretty even unkempt in the forest, but now that she had bathed she looked glorious. Fair skin, full red lips, dark mysterious eyes, and black hair tumbling down her back in loose curls. Ohh, and he almost didn't notice… she was wearing a tunic and pants? He noticed her sister who was sitting next to her also was wearing a tunic and pants.

"Yeah, I've noticed you seem pretty different. Most of the others use a few torture devices and don't allow women to be present. Nor have I ever seen a women wear such outfits. Although I don't know why. Those seem a lot more practical, your majesty."

"Thank you, they are," Susan said amused.

"What is the point of this? I believe the criminal is trying to drag this out with useless talking to delay his execution!" the faun - Certius? Serious? – said, pounding a hoof against the floor.

"Peace, Sirius," the younger king said. "You, prisoner! We do have torture devices, but we used them only as a last resort. I hope that you will not push us that far."

"Get used to disappointment, little boy," Darius sneered. When the king started getting up angrily, Darius grinned, knowing he had finally found something to anger one of them.

"Ed, sit. You, what is your _name?_" the High King said, more fiercely this time.

"Maybe it's Bernadette," Darius said sarcastically. The little queen giggled. Susan tapped her sister disapprovingly, but Darius could see that she was trying not to smile as well.

"How about we find some name to call you for now?" Susan said diplomatically. "How about… Roger?"

"That's a weird name. Where'd you come up with a bizarre name like that? "

"It's a common name in our world!" Susan said exasperatedly. "Fine, how about… Sebastian?"

"How about you just call me prisoner? I'm more used to that. Practically answer to it now. Or actually, your mouse called me imbecile. That's a new one for me. I rather like it," Darius said cockily.

"Fine!" the High King said a bit testily. It seemed like his patience had its limit too. "Prisoner, who is your master?"

"I don't have one."

"Peter, we're not going to get anything useful out of him. May I?" the younger king said, raising a dagger. The High King sighed and nodded. King Edmund then cut into Darius' skin. He grimaced, but managed to keep from shouting out.

"C'mon is that the best you've got?" Darius taunted. Edmund grimaced, but then pulled a vial out of his coat. He poured a few drops of the potion on Darius' skin and it burned horridly. His blood started bubbling to the surface. He felt the pain in his whole body.

"Now are you ready to talk?"

"Archenland! I used to be part of the army there. They gave me this assignment thinking if I screwed up you would assume I was doing it because I worked temporarily as a mercenary for the White Witch." The four monarchs looked stunned at the mention of the White Witch. Good, they would be distracted by that and not pay as much attention to the strangeness of Archenland being involved. The pain was already slipping away.

"We tracked down almost all of her army…"

"Darius! That's one of the human who we never found. And he's the right age and fits the description of his looks. But most interesting, he was on the list that Bliss gave us," King Edmund said, sounding proud of himself. The High King smiled and patted his brother on the back. Darius thought that Edmund looked like he was trying very hard to not burst into smiles at his brother's approval. _Little know-it-all ruining everything. _

"We should have the squirrel take a look at this man. If it was he the squirrel saw, then Archenland did not break our trust," Susan said with a small smile. Darius started panicking. _My family could die if the Narnians don't think it was Archenland! And what did the squirrel see!?_

"He's panicking now; it must be him," Edmund announced. Darius sneered at him. Susan got up from her seat. She put a hand to her brother's chest and gave a light push. He took this as a signal to return to his seat. Her next move shocked Darius. She took his hands in her soft, gentle hands and bent her legs a little so she could look him in the eye.

"Susan!" both her brothers, the faun, and Oreius said. She looked up around the room and frowned. She managed to somehow even make frowning beautiful.

"Don't dirty yourself by touching him!" the faun said, jabbing the hilt of his sword into Darius' side. It didn't hurt too much, but since the queen seemed to be feeling sorry for him, it wouldn't hurt to make her think that the jab caused him pain so he winced.

"Sirius, enough! Darius – if indeed that is your name – you told me you were sorry for what you were doing. And you made not to hold me inappropriately. This is why I do not believe you are the hardened criminal you appear to be."

"Well you're wrong, silly girl" Darius shot back. "Just like you're wrong about me being anywhere near Lantern Waste." He yanked his hands away from her, although he desperately craved her gentle touch. At this the High King got up and slapped him.

"Don't dare to speak to my sister that way, prisoner. Apologize!"

"But she insulted me by insinuating I might not be as evil as I appear to be," Darius said feigning hurt.

"Then why did you let Richard live? And you hesitated before trying to kill me the first time? I don't truly believe you wanted to kill me and-" Susan said to Darius, pushing her brother back.

"I'm really starting to see why you're called the Gentle Queen," Darius interrupted, feeling guiltier by the second. _I tried to kill her and have been doing everything I can to annoy her. Why is she being so damn nice?_

"Enough! We aren't getting anywhere here. We will continue with this tomorrow. For his rudeness, give him only bread and water for his meal," the High King commanded, his arms folded against his chest.

_Like that would bother me. Loads better than the food in Calormen jails, _Darius thought. The minotaurs unchained him from the chair, and rechained his arms and legs before escorting him back to his cell.


	7. Confession

Darius was surprised to still be getting real meals. And even more surprised that alongside it was bandages and such to treat his arm where Edmund had stabbed it.

"So much for bread and water," he mumbled. _Maybe their goal is to make me feel even guiltier about this whole thing by being nice to me…. if so… it's kinda working. _Darius had never before really cared about his targets. But he really didn't want to hurt the High King or queen. They were just way too nice. Especially the queen. But all four of them really. He couldn't even bring himself to hate the faun who shoved the hilt of his sword into his side. Darius knew anywhere else he would have gotten much worse. And sure that vile poison hurt like hell, but it was temporary, and they even gave him stuff to treat it with. Darius was used to leaving interrogations bloody dripping everywhere and immense pain. Well, either that or he had escaped during the interrogation. Thanks to Darius' talent, usually the latter. _Am I not really trying to escape?_ Darius suddenly thought. _Fiddlesticks! I think that's it… I seriously am slipping. _But maybe he didn't want to. But he had to for his family. For Lisette. And for Pheneus. And-

"You have a visitor," the minotaur said as she and the other minotaur walked in. Darius furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Um, I do? Ah, thanks for telling me Bernadette."

"I'm Killroy!" the minotaur said angrily, pushing Darius to the ground. The minotaurs then chained him up as usual and brought him down a different hallway. _Oh, look. It's labeled "Prisoners' Visitation Room." Of course. _

The minotaurs shoved him into an incredibly comfortable chair and chained him in, leaving the chains loose enough that Darius could get up and walk around a bit if he wanted. They then walked to the door and let the guest in.

"Pheneus! What are you thinking?! They might imprison you too! You should be with your sisters and mother!"

"I'm sorry, uncle. We were all just so worried about you! And then there was talk about you being arrested!...What happened?!" Pheneus said, visibly upset. Darius took his nephew into his arms and gave him a tight hug and buried his face in his nephew's messy hair.

"I'm so sorry; I'm so sorry; I'm so sorry," Darius kept murmuring again and again to the distraught boy.

"What did you do?"

"I made a horrid mistake. I broke my promise to your mother and went back to doing what I did before I met the four of you and you changed me."

"Why? Because you missed what you used to do?" Pheneus said, a bit bitterly.

"No! No!" Darius protested, horrified that Pheneus would think of him that way. Then he thought it over. _Was it that? _"Well… I'm honestly not sure."

"What… what do you mean?" Pheneus said quietly, confused by his uncle's words.

"I thought I was doing it to help you all. And if I had succeeded, it would have provided for us forever. I bargained that even if I almost completely failed they would still provide for you. But… there was a part of me that was happy to have a weapon again. Happy to do what I was… best at. A job that wasn't menial. But lately, I've had more time to think, and I would rather do any sort of menial, demeaning work that this. My mercenary work before… it was easier."

"Easier?"

"I always felt guilty doing my work. But it never bothered me much before now. But I tried to kill them and they…they had every right to execute me on the spot. At the very least, the interrogation should have been sheer torture the entire time through, not just one wound. Which they then gave me stuff to treat it with. Instead they wanted to know my name, she took my hands into hers, they've given me decent food and living space. Even when I was purposely rude to the incredible, gentle queen I was only punished with a slap. And supposedly rationed to only bread and water because of that, but they still gave me decent food anyways. I've been treated worse as a guest before. And I don't deserve any of it. I deserve to be tortured to death."

"But uncle, if you did it to help us…"

"I got swept by the idea of easy money to provide security. Maybe our life was bad, but I should've struggled through it. If I wanted to provide more for you I should've worked all night and all day rather than resort to my old ways."

"Uncle… I… want to ask you something. The jobs before, they didn't make you feel guilty?"

"Of course they did. But I learned to just not think of it. And I never really got to know anyone else. And when I did get interrogated, it was violent and horrendous enough that I despised the people so much I didn't feel guilty. But I was also a different person then. Your family brought out the best qualities in me," he said, meaning every word.

"It wasn't just us though that changed you."

"What do you mean?"

"I believe Aslan touched your heart. I've seen him. He told me you were in danger so I came to see you." Pheneus gently placed his hand on his uncle's chest.

"Pheneus, the only true danger for me now is if you are in danger. You shouldn't have come here. Now I don't know what their majesties are going to do to you and I don't know what will happen if neither you nor I are there to protect your mother and sisters..." he trailed off as tears started forming in his eyes. He suddenly heard the sound of a door opening and looked towards the door he had come in through. It was still closed.

A clear strong voice pierced the room. "I have heard enough."

* * *

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy were all hidden behind a painting in the guest room. Susan had purposely ordered a secret compartment to be there in case they ever needed to use trickery to get a confession. Pheneus had arrived at Cair Paravel, saying Aslan had told him to come for his uncle's sake. The four wondered if that meant that Peter's dream of Aslan was about Darius. Susan, hoping Darius was indeed acting for his family's sake, suggested they use Pheneus to trick a confession out of Darius.

Pheneus said he would do whatever they told him to do and agreed to be part of their trickery, even though he seemed reluctant to not be honest with his uncle. Susan admired the young lad's love for his uncle. Darius must deep down be a good man for Pheneus to have such trust in him. Susan studied her brother's face. Peter's face seemed to become less taut quickly. Eventually she started to see even pity in his eyes. Susan leaned over to her brother.

"I see why Aslan sent you the dream. I wish to think that in his place you'd have made a wiser decision, but I fear you would fall in the same trap he did," she whispered softly. Peter looked into her eyes for a few seconds and then slowly nodded. He pushed the picture open.

"I have heard enough," Peter said.

Darius turned around slowly. His face turned ashen at the sight of the four standing there. Pheneus reacted swifter, knowing this would happen and knelt, pulling down his uncle with him. However, Pheneus still looked scared, unsure if Peter saying he heard enough was good or bad for his beloved uncle. Susan gave a soft smile in hopes of reassuring the young boy.

"Your majesties," Darius said blankly, staring at the ground. "I had no idea you were listening."

"We know," Peter said evenly. "We ordered your nephew to speak to you, so we could determine your motivations for the assassination. Aslan himself sent your nephew here and appeared to me in a dream." Susan could see that Darius had no belief in Aslan from his reaction, but he said nothing.

"There remains one thing we need to know. Who sent you to assassinate my sister?" Peter said firmly. Darius remained silent. Peter repeated his question, anger creeping into his voice, "I said, who sent you to assassinate my sister?"

"Your majesty. I-I-I can't," Darius stammered. Susan noticed a look of intense fear in his eyes. She frowned. He should by now have realized that Peter's bark was worse than his bite so Peter's anger didn't warrant that much fear. Then she noticed his eyes flicker towards Pheneus. He whispered quietly, "They'll kill them."

"Darius, we will send escorts for family immediately if you speak and they will be safe and provided for here," Susan said.

"Susan, you can't just…" Peter trailed off as Susan frowned at him. They stared at each other for a few minutes, like children having a petty staring contest. Peter then broke eye contact. "Darius, we promise no harm will come to your family if you are truthful with us."

Darius took a breath and spoke. "It was the Calormens, your majesties. They wanted to hire me so that you would believe Archenland had betrayed you. The Calormen Varash was the one who approached me with the job offer."

"Calormens," Peter hissed angrily.

"Was the request from him, or was he simply relaying the commands of the Tisroc?" Edmund interrogated.

"He didn't say, but I expect the latter."

"One more question. Why did you show mercy when you could have killed Sir Richard easily?" Susan asked.

"When you called out his name, I realized I had been mistaken about him being one of my targets. There was nothing in my agreement with Varash about whether I could show mercy to others present or not, your majesty."

"You had targets other than my sister?" Peter asked.

"Yes, your majesty. You." Darius shifted uncomfortably.

"I see. Siblings, let us step outside for a moment to confer." Peter turned to leave through the front door, the three others trailing behind. Susan lingered behind, taking one last look at Darius. He was staring at a carving in the wall. Susan glanced at the carving. It was a carving of Aslan defeating the White Witch. Susan smiled and followed her siblings out.

"Brother, let us forgive his transgressions," Susan pleaded, taking Peter's hands into her own.

"Peter, we can't simply forget everything that this criminal has done. If we did, we would have to let every criminal walk free," Edmund protested.

"But Edmund, he –" Peter was interrupted by Edmund

"Peter, whether I can find it in my heart to forgive him or not is not the question here. I am not so presumptuous as to question what Aslan has told us. But there are already many talking about Darius who are fully aware of the happenings of that night. There must be some sort of justice, or else every criminal will want their case reexamined." The siblings fell quiet at Edmund's words. He was the Just after all.

"So do you have any idea on how justice can be served while still forgiving him?" Lucy asked, knowing her brother's slyness.

"Indeed I do."


	8. The Offers

"Darius, my royal siblings and I have an offer to make," the High King announced as the monarchs reentered. Darius quickly got back down on his knees. Pheneus knelt beside him and gave him a hug.

"An offer, your majesty?" Darius asked, confused.

"You may rise. Sometimes it is preferable to reach an agreement with a prisoner rather than taking a case to trial. After hearing the offer, if you do not agree with it you can still chose to go to trial. We will not be insulted," he explained.

"Since your majesties have promised no harm will come to my family, there is nothing else I care about and I will submit myself to whatever punishment my kings and queens see fit."

"Without even hearing what it is?" Susan said in surprise.

"You have been naught but merciful to me, far more than I deserve."

"Then let us proceed with the agreement. Lucy, will you act as a scribe for the agreement?" Peter said.

"Sure!" the young queen said perkily as she skipped over to the drawers which held parchment and quills.

"Edmund, it was your idea, so you dictate," the High King commanded. The younger king nodded to his older brother in thanks.

"We, Queen Lucy, King Edmund, Queen Susan, and the High King Peter, by the power invested in us by Aslan himself, have seen fit to create an agreement with the mercenary Darius. In exchange for sparing his life, his freedom is to be forfeit to the throne of Narnia and he will live at Cair Paravel under our watch in servitude as retribution for his sins. Should he disobey us in any manner or break the terms of this agreement, his life shall be forfeit," Edmund dictated.

Darius looked up in confusion. He was a man of action, not words, and wasn't quite sure what all that meant. "Your majesties?" he asked hesitantly.

"Do you not agree with our terms?" the High King said with a frown. He might have said they would not be insulted, but it was clear that he had said that with the expectation that Darius would accept.

"Sire, of course I will. But…I do not comprehend what the terms are."

"It means - Lucy! Don't write this part down – you no longer can live as you wish but how we decide for you. And part of that will be staying here at Cair Paravel," the High King said. "And disobeying us in any matter or leaving Cair Paravel without permission will result in your execution."

"I- my apologies, your majesty, but I still do not understand. Staying at Cair Paravel is hardly a punishment, and you four are the kings and queens, you already can command. Including commanding the death of anyone you dislike."

"We are not tyrants like some of the other countries where the rulers capriciously play with their subjects' lives and force them to abide with any of their whims. However, in the terms of our agreement, you cannot simply leave any job we give you and seek employment elsewhere as any other Narnian could. Furthermore, your servitude will not be paid, for you are paying for the transgressions from years ago and for the one you tried to make more recently. Food, living accommodations, and such will be provided, but no more than that."

"That is very generous, your majesty," Darius murmured. Whatever menial or demeaning tasks the monarchs might give him would hardly be much worse than some of the jobs he had taken to provide for his sister's family and was certainly better than he deserved. And food and a place to live. But his family needed his income. "I do not mean to be rude… but… my family?"

"We will send an escort to them to invite them to live here. The youngest child will be provided for. Your sister, Pheneus, and the eldest girl will be offered employment. All three of the children will be given an education," Queen Lucy explained.

"Thank you, your majesties," Darius said, amazed at their generosity. Pheneus grinned at the idea of working and living at Cair Paravel.

"Bernadette, Killroy," the High King called loudly. The minotaurs entered. "Unchain him." Darius had been still chained to the chair behind him. The minotaurs quickly unchained him, although one of them gave the monarchs a strange look, probably questioning why they were unchaining such a dangerous criminal. Darius didn't really blame them if that's what they were thinking. He was pretty much thinking the same thing.

"You begin your work tomorrow. For tonight you are our guest," the High King said unexpectedly. "Dinner will be served in an hour in the private dining hall. Both of you are expected to be there." Darius looked at him even more incredulously. _Their guest?! He was a prisoner, or a servant or slave or whatever. Why the heck were they calling him their guest? Maybe in that other world they're from all people are insane. That would explain a lot. Including the over-labeling. _

"Edmund, please escort Darius to the room we discussed. Pheneus, come with me. I would like to talk with you," the High King said.

* * *

"Your majesty, High King," Pheneus began. The High King cut him off by raising his hand.

"In informal situations, just calling me Peter will suffice. There's no need for titles and such," he said with a smile. "Tell me, Pheneus, have you any sword training or such?"

"Yes, your- um Peter. My uncle began teaching me as soon as he began living with us. Before that, my mother taught me how to defend myself," he said. "I've learned some sword fighting, fist fighting, and some archery, although mostly for hunting for food – I've never killed a Talking Animal though!"

"I wouldn't think you had," Peter said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It seem like you've learned quite a lot."

"Thank you, your- erm Peter. Um, also I… wanted to ask you something… it's kinda, erm, an impertinent question," Pheneus said, staring at the ground. He was worried about pushing his luck too far.

"Ask away, boy," Peter said fondly. Pheneus felt reassured by the warmth in the king's voice.

"Why did you choose that punishment for my uncle?" Peter fell silent at Pheneus' words. After a few seconds of silent walking, Pheneus said, "My apologies, your majesty if I went too far."

"Oh, nonsense," Peter said. "I told you to ask away, and I'm glad you were open enough to speak freely to me. But what did I say about titles? Anyways, I was just thinking how best to respond to your question. Although I wished to exonerate your uncle, for in fact in his situation I might have found it hard to resist the temptation, I cannot. I cannot simply change the law because I pity one person. And once word of his attacking Susan gets out, Narnians will not seem safe if we let him wander freely."

"I see, thank you, si- ah, Peter."

"I'm glad you understand. Now, the reason I wished to speak with you. Unlike your uncle, you are fully able to refuse this job offer and look for another. However, I hope that you shall take it," Peter said with a smile.

"What is it, High- uh- Peter?"


	9. Settling In

"Friends, siblings, advisers, and guests!" Peter announced, quickly glancing and hoping that what he said had included everyone. Susan and Ed still wouldn't let him forget the time he had forgotten to say siblings. "We have some grave news to tell all of you and we hope you will all advise us in how to best proceed with the information. Darius, all here know that you attacked the queen. The information about who sent you has not been told to any-"

"We're nobody apparently," Edmund mock-whispered to Lucy. Lucy giggled. Peter frowned, but was having trouble not laughing at Edmund's comment. He secretly liked it when Edmund joked at such meetings because it lightened the otherwise very somber mood that often occurred.

"Has not been told to anyone other than my siblings and I. Happy, Ed?" Peter ended sarcastically. Edmund grinned and gave his brother a thumbs up. Most of the Narnians there were aware of what thumbs up meant because the four had used it before. Darius and Pheneus looked confused by the gesture however.

"Anyways, Darius, will you please explain to those assembled the, erm, assassination job offer? And the details about it too," Peter asked. Darius looked terrified until Susan leaned over and gently touched him on the shoulder. She gave him a reassuring smile and he gave a slight smile in return. He stood up and nervously faced the group. Peter sat down and nodded for Darius to speak.

"I was approached by the Calormene advisor Varash who was sent by the Tisroc (may he die a horrid death)-" the room broke out into chuckles at that statement. Peter allowed himself to smile at that comment.

"Here, here," Edmund said loudly, raising his glass in a mock cheer. Peter raised his hand for quiet and Darius proceeded to tell the Narnians of the bargain. When he was finished, they broke out into shouts denouncing the Calormens.

"Peace, Narnians!" Peter shouted over the din. "Insulting the Calormens will not help anything. I invited each of you to this dinner because I wished to hear your opinion on how best to proceed from here."

"Sire, I recommend we attack them right now! An insult such as this is unforgivable!," the mouse Fezzichup said.

"Why are you mice always so eager to rush into fighting?" Susan said, shaking her head sadly.

"I have an idea!" Lucy piped up. Peter turned towards her exasperatedly. He would much prefer to keep his youngest sister out of any sort of battle type of plans. Granted, she was certainly old enough now to be there, but he still thought of her as sweet little Lucy.

"What is it, Lu?" he asked.

"The Calormens seem to mostly want Archenland and Narnia to no longer be friends. That means the fear that they wouldn't be strong enough to take on the two of us. But that doesn't necessarily mean we are strong enough together to take them. So we can't actually attack them. But, we can use this incident to strengthen our ties with Archenland and show the treachery of the Calormens, which may hinder Calormen's ties with other countries. I suggest we act as though Darius has said nothing to us and our information is solely from the squirrel who saw the bargain take place, so that we would only directly accuse Varash of treachery, but would also be indirectly implicate the Tisroc in the crime. Furthermore, since we have promised safety to Darius' relatives, this will let them believe Darius did not tell us completely of the Calormen's involvement and there is a somewhat better chance they'll leave him alone," Lucy said calmly. Peter did not expect such maturity and wisdom from his little sister. She was growing up even though he still thought of her as a little child. The Narnians all seemed to be agreeing with her.

"Does anyone disagree with my sister's idea or wish to propose a different idea of their own?" Peter asked.

"But just how do we plan to implement this, and do we plan on telling Archenland the whole truth?" Oreius asked.

"If we tell Archenland the whole truth – which indeed may be a good idea for strengthening the alliance – then we should also let them give input on how best to proceed before acting," Edmund said. They all discussed some more and decided to send a letter to King Lune and, if he agreed with Lucy's idea, to then send a letter to the Tisroc explaining Varash's treachery and to tell Narnians that the Calormen Varash had forced a former soldier into trying to assassinate the queen of Narnia. Darius had actually objected, saying it made him seem to much more innocent than he was, but Lucy and Susan quickly overpowered him and insisted they say that. Oddly, Edmund took the girls' side, saying it made Varash seem even more sinister.

"Well, now that we have all that figured out, the official meeting is adjourned, and we can all concentrate on enjoying our meals," Peter said. The Narnians all broke into small conversations amongst themselves. Dessert was served and they all started to wander around to talk with others, which gave Pheneus the chance to finally talk to his uncle who had not been sitting near enough to talk with.

"Uncle Darius! Guess what?!" Pheneus said happily to his uncle. He had been wanting to tell his uncle about the offer Peter had given him. Peter grimaced slightly, assuming Darius would probably not be so happy Pheneus' new job.

"What is it, Pheneus?" Darius asked.

"High-uh Pet-um, is this a formal or informal situation?" Pheneus asked, turning back to Peter.

"Well, informal now," Peter said.

"Alright! So, Peter offered me a job as his page! And he's also going to have me go to training, and if I show enough promise, he says he'll consider taking me on as his squire, which means that I could even get knighted! And by the High King himself! It's so exciting!" Pheneus said, practically jumping up and down. Darius didn't share Pheneus' enthusiasm and glanced at Peter, wondering at his motives, but then quickly covering it with a thin smile.

Peter wasn't too upset by Darius' suspicion. After all, he did have ulterior motives. Edmund had suggested having Pheneus be a page or squire to someone that they could trust to keep a good eye on him. It was clear to them that Darius would be much less likely to attempt escape if it were impossible to bring Pheneus with him. Peter had taking a liking to the boy, however, and decided to take him on personally rather than trusting one of their other knights. He did feel a bit guilty though that the main reason was to keep the boy away from Darius.

"That's incredible news," Darius said, the smile not really making it to his eyes. He turned to Peter and bowed. "Thank you, your majesty."

"Well, he does seem to be an exceptional boy," Peter said, possessively putting his hands on Pheneus' shoulders.

* * *

Darius was told to report for his work to Captain Sirius. He was a bit apprehensive about being under the control of that faun. He seemed very eager to use violence against Darius during interrogation. General Oreius, who had told him that he was working under Sirius, had said Captain Sirius was the only captain one who offered to take him. Darius knew that couldn't be a good sign.

Sure enough, it wasn't.

"So you somehow enchanted the kings and queens into thinking you're just some poor, misunderstood innocent. Well, I see right through your act. Don't think you'll get away with anything on my watch," the faun practically hissed, jabbing a finger into Darius' throat.

"I do not intend to 'get away with anything,' sir," Darius said. Sirius shoved him toward the wall.

"Quiet, you. I don't want you here, but I didn't want any of the other captains taken in under whatever ridiculous spell you have the kings and queens and several of their advisers under," Sirius sneered. The words actually had the opposite effect though. Darius had assumed the advisers were being forced to go along with the rulers. He hadn't realized some of the advisers had actually agreed with the ruling.

"Here, take this and start cleaning. You'll be cleaning up armor all day today," Sirius said, throwing a dirty rag in Darius' face. Darius silently took the rag, afraid to antagonize the faun further. _Antagonize him and it'll just get worse. Hold it together Darius. You've faced way worse than this on some of your jobs. _

"Yes, sir," Darius said walking towards where the faun was pointing. He began cleaning the armor.

* * *

"Darius!" Lisette called, rushing up to him. She had been told he was in the armory and instantly went there.

"Uncle Darry!" Helena and Bria called, running up to him and engulfing him in a big family hug.

"But where is Pheneus?" Lisette asked.

"The High King keeps him fairly busy," Darius said, a tad bitterly. He had tried often in the past week to see him, but whenever Darius had a free moment, which that alone was a rare occurrence, Peter had a job for Pheneus to do.

"Oh, he's a servant for the High King?" she asked in surprise.

"No, his page! And possibly his squire 'if he proves himself' – which of course we both know how good he is – he'll be his squire," Darius told her.

Lisette gasped. "That's great news." She then leaned into his ear so the girls wouldn't hear and hissed, "What's he playing at?"

When she pulled back, Darius shrugged to show he wasn't sure. "Lisette, did the messenger inform you of… um… the … what happened?"

"Yes," she said with a disapproving look. "But you were lucky the kings and queens were feeling extremely merciful."

"_Supposedly_ there was a dream from Aslan," Darius said rolling his eyes. Lisette's eyes suddenly widened. She hastily stepped back and turned to someone behind him and curtsied. The two girls were looking excitedly at something behind Darius. He turned and saw Peter and Pheneus. _Great, at the exact moment when I made it clear I don't believe in that dream. Just my luck. _

"Phen!" the two girls cried, running up to their brother.

"Oh, so you go by Phen?" Peter said with a chuckle. He then turned to Lisette, taking her hand and kissing it. "And you must be Lady Lisette."

"Oh, I'm not a lady, your majesty," she said, a bit flustered. She was honestly more comfortable meeting crooks and mercenaries that she was meeting a king.

Peter chose to ignore the awkwardness of her response, smoothly turning to the girls, who had just remembered to curtsy. "And you must be Lady Helena and Lady Bria. Phen told me so much about you." The girls only giggled and nodded their heads, uncertain how to act. "Well, we must be going, but Phen here was simply too eager to see all of you. Darius, take the day off of work to go help your family unpack."

"But Sirius – "

"I'll send Phen to tell him it is my orders," Peter said, waving a hand dismissively. Darius winced a bit though, knowing Sirius would not take it well. He already seemed to think the Darius had some sort of magical hold on the kings and queens, and this would only fuel his suspicions and hatred of Darius.


	10. An Angry Faun

Months after, Darius still had managed to keep from a full, all out fight with the faun. Thankfully, doing jobs like, well, assassinations for example, had taught him how to utilize his temper rather than letting it use him. No matter what torture he had been put through during interrogations, he had learned to keep his temper so as not to spill secrets. Here he had no secrets any longer, but losing his temper could be dangerous.

With all his work Darius could only spend time with Lisette and the girls late at night and early in the morning. Sirius would give everyone breaks during the day but Darius, saying that losing his freedom includes any right to having breaks. Darius saw Pheneus even less. Last time he had seen him was when the High King sent for Darius, Lisette, and the girls to attend a ceremony in which Pheneus was officially made the High King's squire. Since then, Pheneus' duties as a squire gave him odd hours, but according to Lisette, Pheneus seemed thrilled by every minute of it. And it kept the boy safe too, for no one dared to mistreat him in front of the High King. One time someone did, and Peter lost his temper at the animal that did. Since then, no one had. The two girls had to switch schools once thanks to bullying, but since then had no problems.

"You," Sirius called toward Darius. "Have you finished with polishing the swords yet?"

"No, sir," Darius said a bit testily. _Is he crazy? This'll take me all day for sure unless I do a half-assed job of it and its barely noon._

Sirius slapped him hard. "Was that impertinence?"

"No, sir," Darius said, biting his tongue.

"Leave the swords there for now. I need you to accompany the leopard Sir Arianis on a trip to the village to pick up some new armor deliveries. Meet him at the front gate in ten minutes. I would never trust you with such a task if it wasn't my only choice. But no fear, I'm sure if you try to make a run for it Arianis will be more than happy to tear you to bits, especially after you fighting him in the woods," Sirius said.

"Really? I'm standing here surrounded by swords which I could easily use to escape right now but you're still worried I'll try to make a run for it?" Darius said sarcastically. "uh, sir." He added the last part in an attempt to placate the faun. It didn't work. Sirius shoved the hilt of his sword into Darius' face so hard that Darius, unprepared for such a vicious attack, fell over the bench. Sirius then, much to Darius' relief, stormed off.

Darius grabbed a rag to press to his now bleeding face. _Fantastic start to the day so far. Was he trying to encourage me to run away? Actually, he probably was. Probably just praying for Arianis to shred me to pieces. _

He reached the front gate promptly on time and found the leopard. "Sir, I was told to report to you to accompany you to the village," he said with a bow.

"Oh! I had no clue Sirius would send you… ahh oh well, let's be off," the leopard said warily. _At least he was more or less cordial. Definitely an improvement over Sirius. _

On their way to the village, Darius noticed a bunch of human men surrounding what looked like a beautiful young lady, although there was a strange pinkish and greenish tinge about her.

"Sir Arianis? Do you see that?" Darius said with a frown.

"Yes… but we're on a tight schedule…" Arianis said uncertainly. Darius could tell that the leopard also wanted to interfere.

"C'mon you're a leopard! Most male humans would ran scared just at the sight of you," Darius said convincingly.

"That's not what you did," Arianis commented with a bit of bitterness.

"We can't just leave a lady there if she's in trouble!" Darius protested.

"Why does a criminal like you care about chivalry? Besides, we don't know she's in trouble," Arianis said just as one of the men grabbed at the lady's hair as she tried to walk away and used it to drag her to him. He then wrapped an arm around her as she struggled to get away. Darius started running towards her. Arianis followed a second later. Sure enough, at the sight of them the men looked scared and ran off.

"Thank you ever so much, brave knights!" the lady said with a voice like the summer breeze. Now that Darius had a closer look at her he could see her leaves and realized she was a dryad.

"Might I ask your name?" Arianis inquired.

"Aiyanna, princess of the dryads," the lady said. Darius and Arianis both quickly bowed to her. Darius had heard about the princess. Apparently despite being under Narnian rule, the dryads and naiads kept their own monarchical structure, something Darius never really understood. But then again, he never had a formal education, nor did he even really care about such things.

"Now, my heroes, I would very much like to know the names of my saviors," she said with a smile.

"Sir Arianis, at your service," the leopard said.

"Darius, at your service," Darius said. He noticed a quick flicker of recognition and fear in her eyes at his name, quickly replaced by her previous smile.

"Sir Arianis and Darius, as much as I would prefer to not burden such a brave leopard and man who have already saved me, I would beg of you an escort to Cair Paravel in fear of those horrid men returning. I can assure you, you will be rewarded both for your brave act and for escorting me if you do so."

"Of course, milady. And we ask for no reward. We are pleased to help you," Arianis said.

"Thank you. Rise, my brave protectors, and let us continue to the castle," she said, lifting her hands.

"So, um, if you don't mind my asking your highness, what's a dryad princess like yourself doing so far from the woods and the castle? Or just out of the woods in general quite honestly," Darius said.

"I was traveling from my woodlands to the castle as the newest dryad ambassador to the rulers of Narnia. High King Peter personally requested that I be the next ambassador after Lord Liwanu retired to eternal sleep in his tree. Granted, it is rather unusual for a princess to be an ambassador, but everyone involved believed it may help mend the relationships torn from previous… mishaps."

Darius scratched his head, wondering what she was talking about.

"Well, we are glad to assist you," Arianis said chivalrously.

"I thought you said we didn't have time to even help her when those guys were attacking her," Darius said a bit bitterly.

"I was… mistaken. I doubt the general will be too upset when he finds out why we return without the armor," Arianis said, clearly annoyed.

* * *

"You! You're late!" Sirius came up to Darius fuming. "I was told the trip would take two hours. It's been three! And Sir Lir told me he spotted you in the castle. What were you up to? Spying for the Calormens? Have you just been biding your time here while plotting to finish your job?"

Darius knelt. "Sir, I can explain. We-" He fell silent as Sirius slapped him.

"No more lies! I may have not caught you in the act, but the evidence is enough to get you on trial at least and maybe then you'll get the punishment you deserve!" Sirius snarled.

"Captain Sirius! If you'd just listen for a sec-" Darius was interrupted by Sirius punching him in the mouth.

"No more lies from you!"

"You're crazy!" Darius shouted, spitting out blood. _No,_ _I won't fight back. I can't. I've had worse happen to me. Don't lose your head. Any disobedience can get you killed. Fighting back isn't worth risking that. _

"I'm the sane one for seeing through your 'I'm reformed' act!" Sirius said, accenting words with punches. Darius put his arms up in an attempt to block some of the blows, but still refused to fight back.

"I never claimed to have changed!" Darius protested.

"So you admit it? That you haven't changed?" Sirius snarled.

"No! I mean yes! I mean-" Darius was cut off by Sirius striking him again. He yelled in pain. He pulled a fist back, ready to punch him. Sirius saw Darius prepare to fight back and unsheathed his sword, raising it above Darius. Ready to strike.


	11. Susan's Intervention

**So I'm also writing a companion story about Princess Aiyanna. Currently her story set before the start of this story, but it will eventually catch up with this one. Now back to this story! **

"Captain! What are you doing?!" Susan cried out. She had been returning from a horse ride to talk with the villagers who had filed several complaints about a corrupt judge when she had seen Sirius beating someone. She had quickly rode her horse towards the two men and had seen it all. Sirius paused when he heard his queen's voice.

"My queen, this villain has been plotting against you!" he cried out, pointing his finger accusingly at Darius. "He is a traitor! Once a murderer, always a murderer. Let me to dispose of him for you!" Darius looked up at the queen from where he was kneeling. His eyes were bloodshot. She felt a pain in her heart while looking at his pitiful face. He had been allowing the faun to do this to him. He fell prostrate on the ground. She quickly moved to position herself between the irate faun and him, knowing Sirius wouldn't dare try to hurt Darius if it may mean hurting her.

"Nay, you shall not lift another finger against him until we have heard his side of the story! Liesel dear, send for General Oreius and at least two other guards to come here immediately," Susan said, falling quickly into the role of commander. The lady-in-waiting scurried off to find the general.

"Sirius, what offense could he commit that would rationalize such brutal punishment without trial?"

"Your majesty, this villain, this blackguard, he had bewitched you and your siblings, but I see right through him! Just today I caught him in the castle when he should not have been. Don't you see? He is still allied with the Calormens and plotting to kill you! I did this for your protection, your majesty," Sirius snarled. Throughout Sirius' speech Darius merely stared at the floor. _What has the faun done to him to make him so submissive and meek? _Liesel returned with Orieus, Arianis, and Bernadette.

"General Oreius, Captain Sirius has greatly abused his power as a captain in Narnia's royal army," Susan began.

"I have not! My queen, I've been your faithful servant, doing my duty to undo whatever wicked enchantment-"

"Oreius, silence him!" Susan commanded. Oreius looked surprised but obeyed of course and quickly gagged Sirius. "As his breath of conduct and misuse of power is a military matter, we leave him to you to punish as you best see fit, once he has stood as prosecutor whilst Darius is being interrogated. Sir Bernadette, Sir Arianis, arrest Darius and bring him with us for questioning to test the validity of Sirius' grave accusations. General Oreius, arrest Sirius and bring him with us. Liesel, seek my royal siblings and inform them of what has occurred and entreat them to come to the interrogation room if their current work will allow them to find time. Tisell, go fetch supplies to treat Darius with and bring them to the interrogation room. The rest of you are dismissed!"

Arianis walked over towards Darius, but looked more confused than angry. He used his snout to help Darius to his feet and then allowed him to use Arianis as support to stand. Susan wondered at that, not knowing that the two had been together earlier. Bernadette pulled out a dagger and held it loosely to Darius' back, which seemed a bit ridiculous since he was in no position to make a run for it. Oreius unsheathed his sword, but just holding it in his hand was enough because his skills were well known.

The minotaur Killroy was standing guard outside the prisons.

"Sir Killroy, we require usage of the interrogation room. The centaur Tisell and hopefully my siblings will arrive soon. Let them in," Susan said as Killroy unlocked the room.

"Do you wish for me to chain Darius, your majesty?" Bernadette asked. Susan frowned.

"No, he looks as though he could barely walk, much less fight off all of us while weaponless and make a run for it. Darius, sit in the chair."

Darius sat silently and stared down at the floor. He had in fact been silent the entire trip down.

"Darius, he didn't cut your tongue out did he? Can you speak?" Susan said, suddenly worried.

"He did not, your majesty," he said hoarsely. Susan walked over to him and cupped his chin in her hands, gently forcing him to look up at her. He looked at her, confusion clouding his eyes.

"Has Sirius treated you like this before?" she asked. He gave no response, but the look in his eyes told her everything. "Oh, you poor dear!" She ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly and then stopped when she realized her fingers were quickly being covered with his blood. She whispered, "Darius…"

" A-hem? _What_ is going on here?" Edmund said sounding scandalized. Susan quickly drew her hands back. Edmund kept staring at her with a suspicious look.

"Look at him, he is seriously hurt and needs help," Susan said, trying to explain her actions. When Edmund looked at her and shook his head, she changed tactics and tried to distract him.

"Brother, Sirius attacked and has made charges against Darius here, believing him to have plotted against us and to still be aligned with the vile Calormens," Susan said.

"What?! No, that's crazy!" a young voice suddenly cried out. Edmund and Susan turned and saw that Peter had entered and had brought Pheneus along with him. Pheneus looked shocked and upset when he saw his uncle's face. He began to run towards him, but Peter caught the boy's arm and held him back. Pheneus stared at Susan. "What did you do to him?!" he choked out.

"I've sent for Tisell to bring healing supplies for him," Susan said soothingly. This somewhat calmed Pheneus. At the very least he stopped fighting against Peter's hold on him. "Brother, why did you bring your squire along with you?"

"He was there when Liesel sent for me and insisted on accompanying me," Peter said ruefully with a shrug.

"We helped Tisell with the healing supplies," Lucy said as she entered. Behind her entered Princess Aiyanna and Tisell. They had no healing supplies in their hands. Everyone looked at them in confusion. Lucy giggled and pointed to Aiyanna. "Here's all our healing supplies!" Aiyanna smiled softly at Lucy's joke and walked over to Darius and called up her healing powers to mend him.

"But I thought dryad magic wasn't as powerful so far from their tree?" Edmund asked.

"Ed!" Susan protested, shocked at her brother's lack of tact.

"It's alright. Generally no, but my powers are amplified as a princess and have been growing much quicker than the average dryads. But it will still take quite awhile, and the wounds will still take time to fully heal," she said while placing her hands on Darius head to heal the damage there first.

"Incredible," Peter said admiringly. Susan and Lucy shared a knowing glance which Peter didn't seem to catch. Edmund just rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, Sirius, we will allow you to speak now, but facts only, not your interpretation of them," Susan said. Peter shot her a look. He never took to kindly to Susan leading in bloodier cases, but she really didn't care. She was the one who witnessed the incident; she was going to take charge. Thankfully, Peter didn't contest her. Oreius removed the gag from Sirius' mouth.

"I sent Darius with Sir Arianis on an errand to fetch armor from the village that we had ordered. He returned far too late for such a simple errand, and Sir Lir saw him in the castle! He was there, your majesties, and the only explanation is that he was spying for the Calormens!" Sirius seethed.

"The only explanation?" Arianis asked, annoyed. "I was with him. We saw her highness, Princess Aiyanna, on our way, being attacked by a group of men and intervened. We then escorted her into the castle."

Sirius' eyes grew big. "But that doesn't explain why he returned so late."

"I'm afraid that's my fault," Lucy perked up. "I insisted they stay and have some tea and tell me what happened."

"Then there is no reason to interrogate Darius; the accusations against him were incorrectly made assumptions only loosely rooted in fact," Peter said. Pheneus looked up at him with adoring eyes, happy that Peter was supporting his uncle. Peter allowed a small smile at the boy. "However, Sirius' abuse of power against him must be answered for. Nothing, especially not this, allows for such a hateful act." Sirius looked at him wildly.

Edmund turned to Darius and asked, "Darius, are there any other crimes Sirius has committed that we should know about?" Darius shifted uncomfortably, as though he didn't want to speak.

"Sirius has been using Darius as a punching bag for some time. I'm not sure how long because he wouldn't say anything, but the look of fear and shame in his eyes when I asked him about it made it clear," Susan said, placing a kind hand on Darius' shoulder in hopes of encouraging him to speak.

"That's preposterous! I may have hit him once or twice, but only to keep him from trying to escape from Cair Paravel or from snooping around!" Sirius protested. Ed and Peter looked a bit uncertain at these words. General Oreius kept his perfect poker face, not betraying any emotion. Lucy, however looked horrified at Sirius' words.

"Uncle Darius wouldn't!" Pheneus shouted out. Peter pulled him back with a frown and motioned for him to be quiet.

"I think we can deduce from what happened today that this is highly unlikely to be true. If you think that saving Princess Aiyanna and staying with my sister warrants you beating him so badly, we doubt any other abuse was warranted either," Susan said sternly.

"Either way though," Edmund said, raising a hand to silence Sirius before he could say anything. "Darius has to press charges against him. We cannot just assume based on what Susan deduced happened, even though I agree it seems most probable. Therefore, Darius, son of late Archenlander Enjol, do you press charges against the faun Captain Sirius, son of the late faun Panbus?"

Darius' eyes widened. "Did you just say son of _Panbus?_" Sirius' eyes narrowed as Darius said his father's name. "No… no I don't want to press charges…" he said slowly. Everyone but Sirius looked at Darius in confusion, wondering why the name of Sirius' father had such an effect on Darius.


	12. A Mortal Offer

"Did you say son of _Panbus?"_

Sirius was furious that Darius had dared to say his father's name. _That murderer! _

"No… no, I don't want to press charges," Darius said slowly. _What's he playing at?_ Sirius thought suspiciously.

"I'm confused," Queen Lucy said, always willing to voice what others might be uncomfortable saying. "Why did you react to who his father was?" Darius looked hangdog at the ground. _You better, you murderer_, Sirius thought.

"He… he was… an assignment from the White Witch. He was part of a rebellion group against her," Darius stammered. He then put his elbows on his knees and dug his face into his hands. Everyone reacted as it dawned on them what Darius meant by "an assignment."

"How horrid," Lucy whispered.

"Murderer!" Sirius hissed. General Oreius quickly moved to restrain Sirius from attacking Darius, pulling his arms tightly behind his back.

"Sirius, remain calm," Peter said, running in front of him and holding him by his shoulders. "I know this is hard for you, but violence is not the answer."

"He sure seemed to think it was when he murdered my father!"

"He's changed. He's not about to murder again," Peter murmured comfortingly, but it was lost on Sirius.

"No! Once a murderer, always a murderer!" Sirius cried out, struggling against Oreius' hold. When the centaur's grip wouldn't yield, Sirius eventually gave up and went limp, crying.

"Sirius… I know this probably won't help, but I'm sorry about what I did. I wish I had never done all the stuff I did in the past," Darius offered weakly. Sirius only glared at him through his tears.

"High King Peter, allow me," Princess Aiyanna said, pushing him back with her hand. He released his hold on Sirius and looked at her curiously. She placed her hands on Sirius' head and murmured something in ancient dryad. Sirius instantly felt lighter and the tears stopped flowing. He was still angry but much less so. "Is there anything else you'd like to add? No insults though, just fact."

After a long pause, Sirius whispered hoarsely, "He tricked my father, claiming to be sent by one of his friends. After my parents gave him a meal, he proceeded to tell us why he was really there and tried to kill my father. I tried to stop him. Just as Darius was about to deal the killing blow I ran in front of my father to block him. I begged him to show mercy, but he pushed me aside. I then tried to attack him, but he quickly defeated me and knocked me unconscious." Throughout all of this, Darius remained crouched with his face in his hands. He started shaking when Sirius spoke about begging for mercy.

"Darius, do you deny any of this?" Peter asked sternly. Darius looked up from his fingers and Sirius was shocked to see that the man had been crying. _It's all an act. He just wants their pity_¸ Sirius reminded himself.

"No," Darius said quietly. _He looks so genuinely upset… But no! If he was, he would have never done it in the first place! _Darius suddenly got up out of the interrogation chair. The room was silent as all eyes were glued on him, wondering what he was about to do. He knelt down on both knees in front of Sirius.

"I know I deserve to die for all the deaths and suffering I have caused, and that nothing I can do can ever make up for them… If you… if… if you want to kill me right now to avenge your father, I will not fight you. And I ask that no one else here try to stop him," Darius said. Sirius stared back at him in shock, not understanding why a coldblooded murderer would offer up his life so willingly.

"Darius, there's no need for you to do this. Aslan himself sent dreams to tell us to forgive you," the High King said.

Darius shook his head. "Even if Aslan is real, he never sent a dream to Sirius telling him not to kill me. If he wishes to avenge his father, he should do so."

Sirius was confused, not comprehending the moment. He had been trying for months to get Darius to disobey an order so that Darius would be executed, and yet here he was, fully able to walk free but choosing to put himself at Sirus' mercy. He heard an audible sob and a cry of "Uncle!" and saw the High King pull Pheneus in close and hug him tightly to restrain him. Pheneus turned in his arms and buried his face in the High King's tunic. In a trancelike state, Sirius heard Queen Susan's voice, sounding far off, say no and Princess Aiyanna whisper something to her. He suddenly realized Bernadette was speaking to him and turned to her. She was holding out a sword for him to take. He stared at it, confused. He then realized it was to kill Darius with. He turned to Darius again. Darius looked pained, but not afraid. Almost as though it was guilt, not fear for his life that was paining him. Sirius realized that Oreius had let go of his arms and grabbed the sword. It felt heavy in his hand. _Father, I can avenge you at last. _

"No!" Pheneus screamed, pushing Peter away forcibly and running in front of his uncle. He hugged his uncle around the neck, buried his head in his uncle's tunic and began crying. Sirius started convulsing and crying. _No, Pheneus, don't beg for his life. I couldn't handle it if you did. _

"Please no! Uncle don't leave me! Please don't kill him," Pheneus cried out. _I was about the same age when I begged for my father's life. But no, this is different! _He gripped the sword tighter.

"Pheneus, I said no, don't fight for me," Darius murmured. _"Sirius, my boy, no! Run, don't fight!"_ Sirius shut his eyes to try to not see the painfully similar scene.

"If I may," a soft voice pierced through his head. He looked up and saw Princess Aiyanna looking at him. "There is no reason to turn to enacting violence upon one who has turn away from it. Or do you want Pheneus here to become hardened by the death of his uncle just as you were by the death of your father?" Sirius was shaking so hard that he could not hold onto his sword. It fell to the ground with a clatter. Pheneus turned to see what the noise was. Sirius saw the tears in his reddened eyes and couldn't help it. He ran out of the room and just kept running until he was in one of the more secluded gardens. He began convulsing again and crying. _Father, I couldn't. Why couldn't I? I should have. I should go back. I should KILL him._

He heard sound behind him and grabbed his sword in case it was Darius.


	13. Starting Over

"My father knew your father," a summery voice said. Sirius saw Princess Aiyanna walking up to him. She knelt by his side. "He was only supporting fighting the White Witch because he believed it would lead to more peace in the end. I do not believe for one second that he would wish for you to kill a man who intends to hurt no one any longer. I know you do not trust him, but Aslan came, and Aslan would not have come unless Darius was important to the protection of Narnia. In blood spilt from protecting Narnia, not from revenge, should Darius atone for his past sins and the death of your father."

"Why are you here? To tell me I was wrong for how I treated him?" Sirius said bitterly. "I do not regret that. I only ran because of what you said about Pheneus."

"I understand. And no, I'm not here to scold you. But rather to give you an offer. My cousins can take you in. There is tender woodland magic which helps to heal a heart. Carrying inside so much hate and pain for so long will make it difficult and long, but there is nothing more peaceful then a life of solitude with the forest. There is a part we call Passaic. Sleeping trees guard the way there, so it is undisturbed. Many dryads go there to be at peace. With the help of trees, you too can enter there and perhaps eventually find peace to accept your father's death."

* * *

Lucy was nervously tapping her foot against the ground. Everyone but Sirius and Aiyanna were still sitting in the interrogation room. Aiyanna had asked for permission to follow him, saying she had a way to help him find peace. Peter had seemed reluctant to let her take charge, but she was insistent and Peter had a tendency to give in to her, something which made Lucy question Peter's assertion that he and Aiyanna were back to being just friends and people who worked together. Darius was still kneeling on the floor, as though in shock. Pheneus had eventually pulled his head out of his uncle's shirt, but was still hugging him. Peter seemed to be half-heartedly trying to get Pheneus to get up. Edmund was comforting Susan who seemed particularly upset by the whole ordeal.

Lucy walked over to Pheneus and Darius.

"Do not fear, Aslan will always protect us. Unless Aslan decided that it is time for your uncle to join him in Aslan's country, he will move Sirius' heart to not seek revenge," she said to Pheneus. Pheneus looked somewhat comforted at her words. Darius shook his head ever so slightly in disbelief. Lucy frowned. She never liked it when people were unsure of Aslan's love for them.

Then Aiyanna returned. "He agreed to travel to Passaic, where I will arrange for my people allow him passage and care for him. Peter, can you arrange for an escort to travel with him to Passaic's borders?" Peter looked surprised, but nodded. Everyone, except maybe the minotaurs looked relieved. Lucy couldn't quite tell; the minotaurs weren't very expressive in general. She was surprised to see that even Arianis looked relieved with how things had turned out.

"There's a few knights who are headed that general direction anyways to deal with rumors of a dragon," Edmund said, looking at Peter for affirmation. Peter nodded, so Edmund said, "I'll tell them they have another person coming with them as soon as we're done here."

"Killroy, Bernadette, Arianis, Tisell, you may all leave now. Please keep quiet about what just occurred here. Siblings, Darius, Pheneus, Oreius, let us move to a more comfortable place," Peter commanded.

"A more comfortable place? What, is an interrogation room not cozy and comfy?" Ed said sarcastically, trying to ease the tension in his normal way.

"Most comfortable interrogation room I've ever been in," Darius muttered. Lucy overheard and giggled.

* * *

Darius sat awkwardly on the chair. He wasn't quite sure why High King Peter wanted them gathered to talk. Queen Susan seemed to notice his discomfort and smiled reassuringly. Darius meekly smiled back. King Edmund seemed to notice their exchange and gave them a strange look.

"Darius, was Sirius the only one who gave you trouble these past few months?" Peter asked. Darius started in surprise. _Not expecting that. Um, okay…_

"Um, mostly yeah," Darius said. The High King frowned. Darius quickly added, "your majesty," assuming that was the reason why he had frowned.

He was surprised when instead he said, "Oh, don't bother with formalities. And Darius, don't underreport here. If there's a likelihood there will be more problems like this one, I'd rather know now before it escalates like this one did."

Darius nodded. "No one has been violent about it, mostly just saying and threatening things."

"Any likely to follow through?" Oreius asked.

"No clue. I don't know them well. Most everyone tries to avoid me," Darius said, trying to shrug it off to not bother them. Susan looked upset anyways.

"Pete, I think he should be transferred anyways. Some might be even angrier now if rumors of all this came out," Edmund said. Peter looked uncertain, but then Oreius nodded, affirming Edmund's advice.

"Alright. Where to?" Peter challenged, figuring .

"How about his main job be guarding? No one's going to give him trouble if any of the four of us or Oreius are there to stop it. Plus, he'd have an ahhh insider's experience when it comes to assassins and such that might be after us," Edmund said. Darius awkwardly shuffled his feet and stared at them at Edmund's reference to "insider experience." "And we'll be able to, I mean it'll make people less likely to make false accusations against him because we'd have been there." _And you'll be able to keep an eye on me... that's what you were about to say, isn't it?_

"Alright," Peter said clapping his hands together. "Darius, report for training at 8 am sharp on the main training field. Rest today so your wounds can heal."

Oreius and Edmund looked like they were about to protest but Peter gave them both a hard look and they shut their mouths. Darius briefly wondered why they were so against him training. Pheneus looked delighted.

"And if no one else has anything they want to bring up…" Peter trailed off, giving people a moment to cut in, but no one did. "Alright, the meeting is dismissed."

* * *

After he rested in his room for awhile, Darius went over to see Lisette and update her on what was going on. He was surprised to find Queen Susan was in there, talking to Lisette's youngest, Helena.

"And then Edmund ran in with his sword, and cut the Witch's wand in half! Of course, she was furious, and attacked Edmund so bad he fell. And- Oh! Hello Darius," the queen said. She smiled at him sweetly. If she hadn't said his name then he would have looked behind himself to see who the smile was meant for.

"Your majesty," he said with a bow.

"Oh, there's no need for formalities. I was just telling Helena here about the battle against the White Witch. Are you looking for your sister?"

"Yes, your, um… yeah."

"She's in North Garden. Do you know where that is?"

"No, but I'm sure I can find it," he said. _And I'm sure it's labeled._

"Here, I'll show you where it is. Helena, do you want to go out and see the garden?" Susan asked, rising and pulling the little girl up with her. Helena nodded enthusiastically. Susan smiled and walked towards the door. Darius quickly reached to open it for her. They chatted a bit on the way to the garden, mostly Susan talking about the crazy antics of her brothers when they were younger. Darius was happy to let her do most of the talking, loving the sound of her voice.

"And they are horrible at directions and even worse at admitting they're lost, _especially_ Peter. That's why I began labeling everything," Susan said with a laugh. _So that's why! Still seems a bit overzealous to me._

They arrived at the North Garden. "What a surprise. It's labeled North Garden. I wonder where I might be," Darius said sarcastically. Helena and Susan laughed.

"Farewell. I hope to see you again soon," Susan said, extending her hand. _Really? You do? _Darius was tempted to ask why, but instead simply took her hand and kissed it with a bow. He then gave Helena a hug and walked over to where Lisette was serving tea to some visiting nobles. Susan and Helena wandered off towards the other gardens.

"Darius, how goes it? I heard some say you were attacked, others said you attacked someone, but I hardly believe that."

"Of course I haven't attacked anyone. Lisette, I've been transferred to guard duty," he said, trying to evade the topic of nearly dying, even though he knew Pheneus would tell his mother everything.

"Stop trying to change the topic and I am proud of you," Lisette said, hugging him with her free arm. "Although training may take longer than you imagine, since you're mainly used to techniques to fight humans, not the varied assortment of creatures here. Phen's been having some issues with that."

"I had some of that sort of training when I worked for the Witch," Darius said, waving it off.

"Lisette, darling," one of the ladies called. Lisette hurried over, Darius following her. "Is this dashing man your… suitor? He looks rather young for you."

"What? No!" Lisette cried out. "Milady he –"

"It's alright dearie. We know how much fun secret courtships can be," the lady said. The other ladies giggled.

"She's my sister," Darius said awkwardly.

"Oh," the ladies said, annoyed that their fun gossip was gone.


	14. A New Start

"Mother, do you remember someone named Panbus?" Pheneus asked.

"I believe he was one of your uncle's… assignments," Lisette said. "Helena, how about you go off to your room?" Helena looked confused, but walked to the room. "Phen, why do you bring up such things?"

"His son was Uncle Darius' supervisor," Pheneus said, looking at his mother to gauge her reaction.

"Is that why I heard rumors of Darius being attacked? And why he's been transferred?" Lisette asked.

"Yes. It was pretty bad, but it's all good now," Pheneus said, adding the last part to comfort his mother.

"I should've known. Your uncle has so many enemies," Lisette said, placing her head in her hands. "I wish I had done a better job of discouraging him from such work when we were younger."

"It's most definitely not your fault, Mother! Besides, it's all working out in the end."

"For now. But how many other enemies of your uncle may suddenly appear at any moment?"

* * *

Edmund barged into his brother's bedroom the next morning.

"Pete! Time to get ready for breakfast before training, sleepyhead," he said energetically. He went over to his brother's bed to push him over, but realized the lump was his blankets bunched together. Peter walked into the room.

"Hey, Ed. Sleepyhead yourself. I've been in my study working on paperwork for the past hour."

"Shut up," Edmund said. Peter grinned.

"So why are you in my room anyways?" Peter asked.

"A million questions. Do you fully trust him? Why is he training with us? I mean, his nephew, okay he's your squire, but Darius? Oh, and the most important question, do you know what's for breakfast?"

"Alert the dictionaries, a million has been redefined to mean three," Peter said sarcastically. Edmund threw a pillow at him.

"Are you gonna answer me or not?"

"So… No, but other than you, our sisters, and a few others like Oreius, I don't fully absolutely trust anyone. I trust him enough though. And for your second question, why not? We could use some change in our training, I know Pheneus'll be delighted, and it'll get us more practice in fighting humans. And why the heck would I know?"

"You would know because it was your decision…" Edmund said, confused. He was a bit annoyed that Darius would be training with them. There were a million – well at least Edmund's definition of a million – soldiers that he felt had much better reasons to train with them who had other training times.

"Huh? I don't decide what's for breakfast."

"Oh, I thought you were still talking about training. Well, let's go find out what's for breakfast then. It better be good because I'm starving!" Edmund exclaimed. Peter laughed and walked down to breakfast with him.

* * *

Oreius was surprised to see that Darius had arrived at training before he did and was already practicing archery. The centaur had to admit, this did put the former mercenary higher in his esteem, especially since the centaur had shown up 15 minutes early.

"Since you're here so early, would you like to help me set up?" Oreius asked.

"Of course, sir," he responded. Oreius gave him some things to do, and was pleasantly surprised how adept and swift he was at setting up equipment. _Maybe having him train with the kings will be an asset after all. _Pheneus showed up about ten minutes early as well and did his regular routine as squire of helping set up.

Soon Peter and Edmund came running, just barely on time. Oreius frowned at them, but since they did make it on time, he said nothing. Pheneus handed them their swords.

"Darius, there's a few swords over there. Use one of those for now, and we'll eventually send you to get your own sword," Oreius said. "So I can judge where you are at, we are going to start with you facing off against Peter. Don't hold back at all." Peter nodded and gripped his sword as he walked to the practice ring. Darius followed uncertainly.

Peter raised his sword in front of him like Oreius had taught him. Darius, surprisingly, just held his sword loosely at his side. Peter made the first move, slashing his sword down. Darius quickly raised his sword and pushed back hard enough to make Peter take a few steps back. _He's definitely got strength_, Oreius thought. It wasn't surprising though, based on some of the stories Oreius had heard about him. Peter continued attacking offensively, with Darius only blocking his blows. Oreius frowned. He had expected the former mercenary to have a more offensive strategy, having presumably been an attacker more often than a defender. _Well, his good defensive skills will be much more helpful in protecting the kings and queens. _After a few more strikes, Orieus realized he had assumed wrong. Darius had been letting Peter attack him so that he could have time to see what Peter's fighting style was and deduce his weaknesses. When he had figured it out, Darius jumped aside and ducked from one of Peter's blows and sneaked behind him, with some sort of fancy footwork that Oreius could never do, being a centaur. As Peter turned, sword raised, Darius easily performed a spinning trick with his sword to make the sword fly out of Peter's hand. Oreius was very impressed. _If he truly is on our side now, he will indeed be an asset._

Suddenly, Darius' facial features hardened. Oreius knew that look. It was the look of someone ready to fight. _But Peter's unarmed! Why did I ever trust that mercenary?_ Oreius thought furiously. He gripped his two swords, but knew there was no way he was close enough to get to the High King in time.


	15. Calormene Assassin

Darius used a trick he had learned while he had been a part of the Archenland army and spun Peter's sword out of his hand so it flew off. Although the kings were watching the sword as it flew, Darius ignored it, knowing where it would land. Therefore, he was the only one who noticed the Calormene assassin armed with a bow and arrow step out from behind a cabinet and aim for Peter. Darius instantly switched to combat mode. He jumped forward to push Peter down and out of harm's way, letting his body serve as a shield for Peter. He heard the zing of an arrow being shot and cried out in pain as it was embedded deep into his shoulder. He rolled off of Peter, careful to still be blocking him from the assassin and tried to pull the arrow out.

Edmund yelled out in concern for his brother and he and Orieus chased after the assassin who was running away. Peter sat up, looking confused, and then shocked when he saw the arrow sticking out of Darius' shoulder. He put a hand on Darius' arm and used the other to gently pull the arrow out.

"Sosha!" Peter called to someone in another room. "Bring bandages for an arrow wound!" A badger scurried in a few seconds later and tended to Darius.

"I'm fine," he protested.

* * *

Susan angrily shot arrow after arrow into the moving targets, hitting every single one. She wasn't even sure why she was so angry. She had been thinking of Darius and considering heading over to watch him train when that Galman Lord, her suitor Icarus had approached her and insisted on spending time with her. He was a nice enough man, so she wasn't sure why his request bothered her so. After all, she didn't actually have anything important to do for once – which was highly unusual, even for this early in the morning – and had been planning on wasting time. And he even offered that spending time together could mean practicing archery. But something about it bothered her. So she did what she always did when her feelings confused her: shoot stuff alone. She told the suitor to meet her there in an hour or so, knowing that she would be much calmer after shooting for awhile. As she was shooting, her gaze kept wandering towards the training field where Darius would be training. Darius and her brothers and Pete's squire, Susan reminded herself. She didn't know why she kept centering in on the mercenary. Suddenly she noticed a commotion. She saw a man running, followed by her brother and Oreius. The man had a head start on them though and it seemed possible that he could get away.

"As usual, it's up to the females to save the day," Susan sighed, aiming an arrow at the man, hitting him with no problem.

* * *

Edmund and Oreius returned, dragging an unconscious Calormen. Susan walked in after them, bow in hand and quiver on her shoulder. Peter helped Darius stand up, despite Darius' protests that he was fine.

"He was stupid enough to run past the archery range while Su was practicing. She didn't shoot to kill though, so we ran up and hit him and he's just unconscious. And injured from the arrow of course. Looks like the Calormens aren't even bothering to mask who they are now by claiming to be Archenlanders like they had him do," Edmund said, nodding towards Darius.

_Well that was rather pointed, _Darius thought, a bit hurt. "You never know, maybe he's going to claim to be Archenlander too," Darius said sarcastically.

"Are you both alright?" Susan fretted. Darius nodded.

Peter nodded. "Thanks to his quick action, not a single wound."

"Thank you, brave knight," Susan said, taking his hands into hers and curtsying. It was her way of honoring those who did brave deeds for her family.

Darius felt his face go red. "I'm not a knight, your majesty," he mumbled. Darius thought he overhead Peter mutter something that sounded like "well, not yet" but he assumed he must have misheard.

"Now, we should bring this assassin to the interrogation room," Peter said.

"Feels like we were just there yesterday, oh wait we were. Hey, Darius, you get to be on the other side of things for once," said Edmund, yanking up the arm of the assassin.

"Will you be needing me? There's a suitor from Galma here for me who said he would join me on the archery range in oh, a half an hour or so," Susan asked.

"Be sure to accidentally shoot him," Edmund teased. "Or better yet, wait until there's a few suitors in a line and accidentally shoot all of them at once."

"Ed!"

* * *

Darius was trailing behind the rest of the group as they went down to the interrogation room once again. Oreius suddenly slowed down to match with Darius. Darius looked at him, correctly assuming the centaur wanted something of him.

"Yes, sir?"

"When you were fighting, you were abiding your time to gauge Peter's ability," Oreius stated, rather than asked. Darius inclined his head to affirm what Oreius said. "What did you conclude?" Oreius asked. "Feel free to be brutally honest. What weaknesses did you find easiest to exploit?"

Darius hesitated, and lowered his voice so the kings would not overhear them. "Footwork. With fast and fancy footwork, it was easy to defeat him. He did not know how to perform complicated footwork correctly, and seemed unaccustomed to others using it in the way I did."

Oreius nodded seriously. He agreed with the mercenary's assessment. He himself had noticed this weakness before, but as a centaur, it was difficult to teach humans footwork. And while many of the other humans in the Narnian army could perform footwork better than the kings who had sometimes tried to help give them lessons, they weren't nearly as good as this mercenary. "Have you ever taught swordfighting? Especially footwork?" he inquired.

To his delight, Darius nodded. "One of my jobs, I was hired to teach. Refreshing job after all the… erm… less honest jobs."

"Peter, Edmund," Oreius called to the kings that were a bit in front of them. The two of them and Pheneus stopped and turned back, letting the prisoner fall against a wall. "Starting tomorrow, the first half of your morning training will consist of Darius teaching you footwork."

"Um, what?" Darius asked wide-eyed. Both of the kings seemed agreeable to the idea though, but then again, they generally tried to refrain from arguing with Oreius when it came to their practices, knowing arguments made him work them harder. Pheneus grinned.

"It'll be different, having a human teaching us," Peter commented.

"Brilliant Pete, you noticed that humans are different from fauns and centaurs. Whatever would we do without the High King's genius insights," Edmund said sarcastically. They got the prisoner settled into the interrogation chair and waited for him to wake. They passed time by asking Darius various questions about his past jobs, which Darius answered uncomfortably.

"He's waking," Edmund suddenly said, prodding the prisoner with his toe. The Calormene assassin woke up and looked around in confusion. His eyes centered on Darius and he glared at him. Oreius gave a sharp look at him, but Darius just shrugged and shook his head. Pheneus seemed a little disturbed by some of Darius' more violent stories.

"I am Peter, this is my royal brother Edmund, and the General of our army, Oreius. My squire Pheneus. And you seem to know Darius already?" Peter introduced.

The Calormen snarled, "I'll never tell you anything."

"You probably do want to talk with them. I did, and they were exceedingly generous and gave me a job and protected my family and I from danger," Darius said. Peter had looked annoyed when Darius began speaking, but ended with nodding in approval.

The prisoner only laughed ominously and said, "That's just what you think."


	16. A Secret Deal

Darius had been mulling for days over what the Calormene assassin had said. No amount of talking had gotten the assassin to explain what he meant. The kings eventually resorted to torture, but the assassin was still silent, and the kings were not cruel enough to continue torture for long. Peter and Edmund tried to convinced Darius that the assassin was most likely bluffing, but Darius wasn't so sure. He realized that since the assassin had managed to break into the training fields with a weapon, which meant that Cair Paravel might not as safe for his family as he had once thought. But if he left and was caught, he would be killed on the spot. He didn't think they'd want to send too many troops after him, now that he had saved Peter's life, but it would force their hand or else every criminal they ever made a deal with would think that the deals are breakable.

But what if the prisoner didn't mean some outside threat from the Calormens… What if he knew something about the Pevensies that Darius didn't? Darius shuddered to think that they, especially the queens, would be dangerous to them, but he couldn't help feeling nervous around them now.

Darius heard a knock at the door. He sighed, calling, "Who is it?"

"It's me, uncle," Pheneus called, letting himself in. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've hardly said a word since that first day of training when the assassin went after Peter," Pheneus said, helping himself to the spare chair in Darius' small room.

Darius looked at his nephew and decided Pheneus was old enough to take responsibility for his family. "I've been thinking about what the Calormen said. The 'that's what you think'. It might not be safe for us here anymore."

"We can't just leave!" Pheneus protested. "Besides, if it's not safe here, then I don't think anywhere's safe."

"Not in Narnia or any surrounding lands. But if we set sail," Darius mused.

Pheneus frowned. "We can't leave Narnia! By blood we might be Archenlanders, but in our hearts, or at least in mine, we're Narnians! Aslan himself came for us. How could we ever turn our backs on Narnia?"

"Never mind," Darius mumbled. He hated when people insisted on bringing up Aslan, especially when they used him to prove a point in an argument. Using someone that he didn't actually believe in didn't really work for convincing him of a point.

"Uncle, please tell me you aren't going to give this idea any more thought," Pheneus pleaded.

Darius looked at his nephew, so young and idealistic. "I just want you, Lisette, and your sisters to be safe."

"We _are_ safe. You're here," Pheneus said, grinning and hugging his uncle. "That assassin was probably just trying to get into your head. Besides, if the Calormens were after you, don't you think there would have been an attempt by now on you and not just on Peter?"

"I suppose," Darius said, not quite convinced, especially as he wasn't sure that was what the Calormen was insinuating.

Pheneus suddenly got up and went to the door. "Are you gonna be here awhile?" he asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Darius responded, puzzled.

"Eh, I might come back later to check in on you," Pheneus said.

"Pheneus, I'm fine. You don't have to fuss over me and feel like you always need to protect me. You're just a kid," Darius pointed out.

"Yeah, but someone has to," Pheneus said, closing the door behind him.

About an hour later, Darius heard a knock at the door again.

"Come in Pheneus," he called. The door opened and instead it was Queen Susan. "Your majesty, I wasn't expecting you," Darius stammered, rising to his feet and bowing.

"Darius, do you mind if I talk with you awhile?" she asked.

"No, of course not. It's an honor," he said rotating a chair towards her.

"Sit, please," she said, gesturing towards the other chair after sitting down gracefully. He sat across from her and gazed at her. Her hair was pulled back in a knot of some sort and streamed down her back. She was dressed in some sort of tunic and pants, but the tunic had a distinctly feminine look about it that was irresistible. The pants accentuated the figure of her legs and…Darius blinked twice, trying to forget such inappropriate thoughts out of his mind. _She's the queen. The one you tried to KILL! Get it together!_

"Darius, please, do not be cross with your nephew, but he came to me and told me everything," she said, placing a gentle hand on his knee. Darius froze from the sheer amount of emotions boiling up inside of him. He was both thrilled and terrified by her touch, knowing that wanting her touch was highly immoral. He was elated that she wanted to speak to him, but horrified to know that she knew his seditious musings and annoyed that Pheneus had told her. He was somewhat relieved that it was her and not one of the kings who Pheneus went to, knowing she might keep it secret to keep Darius alive, but he was terrified that she might feel obligated to tell her brothers.

"I sincerely hope you do not leave us, but I also will not stop you from leaving. If you stay, it should be because you want to stay. If you leave, I will do what I can to cover for you to help you be safe."

"Really?" Darius blurted out. "I mean, your majesty, I.. um, I don't want to leave you. I mean Narnia."

Susan laughed. "I hope you are telling me the truth. I was wondering how anyone could ever wish to leave Narnia once they had experienced it for themselves. But Darius, I worry for you. I had not been informed of what the prisoner said, but now that Pheneus told me, I feel your family and you should be moved to a more secure part of the castle. I will arrange for it to happen at once."

Darius looked at her gratefully, but shook his head. "My queen, my job is to protect you, not the other way around."

"Darius, as queen it is my job to do my best to protect all Narnians, and you and your family are Narnians now. And, although Pheneus didn't seem to think of this possibility, but if it is some sort of betrayal from us you are fearing, I promise there is none. We would never betray any of our people, even if they're adopted Narnians," she said with a smile.

She spoke so earnestly Darius found it difficult to disbelieve her. He bowed his head and said, "Thank you, your majesty. I am honored that you consider me a Narnian despite what I have done against your country."

"And I know Aslan does too," Susan said with an earnest smile. Darius inwardly groaned _Why does everyone have to fling him in my face all the time? They know I don't believe in him, so why keep bringing him up like he matters?_

Not wanting to disappoint the queen, Darius simply smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Now, do you still plan to stay in Narnia, here at Cair Paravel?" Susan asked.

"Yes, your majesty," he responded.

"Then, I assume you do not wish for me to inform my brothers of your plan to leave. How about we make a deal?" she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Um, sure? You do realize you can command me to do whatever, right? Not only are you queen, but there's that deal thing forcing me even more."

"Yea, but this kind of goes against my brother's wishes, so you would only have to go to him and tell him of it to get out of it, but with me holding telling Peter about all this over your head, you won't," Susan said with a smug look.

Darius was uncomfortable at the idea of going against the High King's wishes, but also really did not want him to know about Darius considering leaving, because surely he would then keep an even tighter grip on Pheneus so that Darius couldn't get to him. "Then I'd rather not, but I guess I have to. What is it?"

A wide grin spread across the queen's face. "Excellent. You see, Lucy and I were only trained in combat enough to be able to defend ourselves, and then my brother _insisted_ we concentrate solely on archery, saying it would keep us farther from danger. We want you to teach us more offensive combat," Susan said eagerly.

"Secret combat lessons?" Darius said dubiously.

"Yea, you have time allotted to you for practice time alone, have you not? We will attempt to arrange our schedules and can join you at that time and train."

Darius frowned, but bowed his head and said, "I suppose I must obey my queen's commands."

"Excellent. We start today. Both my sister and I are available during your practice time tonight." She rose to leave, Darius also rising out of respect. She then put a hand on his arm and said, "I'm glad you chose to stay."

Darius stared after her as she left, wondering what she meant by that. _She meant she really wants these lessons, idiot. It can't mean anything more than that. You're just another one of her subjects. Not even that actually, lower than that. Get out of dreamland. _

After a few minutes he frowned. So much for the "gentle" queen. That was some pretty devious of her, blackmailing him into going behind her brothers back. Between that and shooting the Calormene assassin, she was fairly… incredible. Not at all the proper lady character she portrayed herself as, but someone more interesting, at least in Darius' opinion.

* * *

"Lucyyy!" Susan called singsong, walking to the secluded archery range where her sister was practicing.

"Susan!" Lucy said with a cheery smile. "Did you come to greet me, or did something happen?"

"I got Darius to give us real combat lessons!" Susan said with a wide grin.

Lucy's eyes widened. They had been trying to get real lessons for awhile, but no one wanted to risk Peter's displeasure. "Really? Are you sure he's not just going to back out of it like most do?"

"Hmm, I might be holding something over his head that he would really not want me to tell Peter," Susan said with a wicked grin.

Lucy frowned. "What is it? Peter might get mad at us for not telling him…"

"Look, do you want the lessons or not? Darius was planning on leaving because the assassin from the other day insinuated that it wasn't safe for his family here, but I talked him out of it. But still, he wouldn't want Peter to know he was considering, well, treason."

"Alright, that's not as bad as I was worried about. And yay! We'll finally be able to really fight," Lucy said with a delighted smile.

"Wait, what were you worried about?" Susan said, confused. "I really don't think Darius would ever betray us… I mean other than when he tried to assassinate me, but that doesn't count."

"Yes, because assassination most definitely does not count as betrayal," Lucy said teasingly. "Anyways, I was hoping what you were holding over his head might be a bit more… scandalous. And involving you."

"Lucy! Whatever are you talking about?!" Susan protested. Lucy ran off giggling.

At dinner, Darius happened to be one of the guards outside the dining hall. Susan excused herself from the meal a bit earlier than usual to get the chance to speak with him some more.

"Hello, Darius. Hello, Fellin," she said to Darius and the mouse guard next to him. They bowed and said, "Your majesty." Susan noticed Darius seemed displeased that she was speaking to him. She felt hurt. Rarely did any man not want to speak to her. She was used to them practically tripping over themselves to even be anywhere near her.

"How goes it, Darius?" she asked.

"Fine, your majesty," he said brusquely, not bothering to even look at her. Susan was aghast. Usually she had problems getting men to stop staring at her, not problems with men refusing to look at her.

"Excuse me," she said coldly, hurrying out. She went outside, changed into fighting gear, and went straight to the archery range to try to make sense of her feelings. She spent most of the hour until her training time there. She knew she was overreacting, but she didn't know why. After all, why did she care about how one of her.. her servants felt about her? She was the beautiful queen of Narnia who had lords and princes, and even kings asking, begging, for her hand. It hardly mattered what a… a _criminal_ thought of her, now did it?


	17. Falling

Susan hit target after target after target, trying to shoot away any feelings. "Do you ever miss a shot?" an astonished voice said, snapping her out of her reverie. She turned and saw Darius looking agape at her.

"Rarely. So if I'm aimed at you, there's no point in running, because I'll be able to hit you anyways," she said coldly, accentuating her point with another perfect shot.

Darius simply laughed, "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

She turned away and began shooting even faster. "Oh really? Then why were you so cold to me earlier?"

"Says the queen known for being so cold to her suitors? That's ironic," Darius laughed.

Susan shot another target straight through the center, still refusing to look at him.

"You wouldn't even look at me," she said coldly.

"Why would I?"

"Excuse me?" Susan gasped, hurt. She finally turned glared at him. She usually didn't boast about her beauty, but this man was so infuriating! She flipped her hair in a way that usually made men stammer compliments. "I happen to know many people, men especially who cannot keep their eyes off of me."

"Oh, is that what this is about? Conceited beauty queen much? So absorbed in your looks that you can't stand having one person not affected by them," Darius said a bit more caustic then intended, for her looks did indeed affect him.

"I have a bow and arrow in my hands and I am your queen. I wouldn't trade insults if I was in your place," Susan said coldly.

"Oh, well in that case, a thousand pardons, your beautiful majesty and oh delight of my life or whatever it is the Calormens say. _Anyways_, I was on the job, beauty queen. I wouldn't have been able to keep Peter from getting hurt if I had been looking at him instead of where the assassin was," Darius pointed out.

"It's 'O Delight of My Eyes', not life," Susan said, shooting yet another target.

"Seriously, beauty queen, do you really think I care about that?" he teased. Susan responded by quickly shooting two targets in a row.

"Maybe I should be the one taking lessons from you. That is simply incredible," he said admiringly. "I had my doubts at first, seeing as your brothers' fighting skills are pretty good but not nearly as great as people exaggerate, but this is… unbelievable."

"Maybe when you start giving me lessons in combat I'll be just as unbelievably good at that," Susan teased, warmed by his compliments. Usually when guys were over-the-top in complimenting her, she ignored them as flattery, but Darius seemed much more sincere and judging from his past experience, he should know.

"We'll see," he said evenly. He then grabbed her arm and started squeezing it.

"Excuse me?!" Susan said scandalized.

"It's fairly possible that you could get really good at this. You do seem to have a decent amount of arm muscle," he said.

"Oh… well, that's okay then. But generally men, especially those of _your_ position, do not simply grab a queen any more than they would say such insults as you have been saying," Susan said snottily. It was rather out of character for her to throw her title around, but he was being a bit too forward with her.

"Yeah, but telling your brothers about this would mean having to explain why we met our here. You can't tell them about anything that goes on during our lessons. And I plan to take full advantage of that fact," Darius responded with a smirk.

Susan glared, annoyed that he was right. "So now you think you can just do whatever you want with me," Susan said, crossing her arms, giving a dangerous smile, and stepping forward, expecting him to back down and perhaps start stammering apologies. To her surprise, he stood his ground and grinned.

"Careful there, that could be taken to have other meanings. Wouldn't want people thinking the queen of Narnia is easy," Darius smirked.

"Why, you!" Susan said, lightly slapping him. She tossed her hair jokingly, "How dare you insult your queen so!"

"Your brothers won't be able to jump to your rescue while we're out here."

"Who needs them? I can deal with disreputable knaves very well by myself," Susan said.

"Good point, you have a bow and arrow with you and I've seen how well you shoot," Darius teased. "So where's your sister?"

"We're still a bit early, but she'll probably be running late as usual. Let's start without her," Susan suggest, putting her bow and quiver aside and walking to the training area.

She grabbed a sword and smirked, wagging a finger for him to come fight her.

"Alright, have at me then," Darius said, grabbing a sword. Susan ran up and swung. Darius easily deflected it with a cocky smile. She then swung again and he just rocked back on his heels, easily evading it. She wasn't even close to hitting him.

"Just randomly swinging your sword is not sword fighting, beauty queen," Darius said mockingly.

"Beauty queen? You better not be insinuating that because I'm beautiful I can't fight," Susan threatened.

"Maybe I am,_ beauty queen,_" Darius shot back. Susan glared and swung again. Darius blocked it again and grinned, this time more genuinely.

"Now that's more like it! We just got to get you angry and you're less afraid of actually swinging at your opponent."

"Excuse me? I was swinging at you before!" Susan protested, swinging at him to prove her point. Darius shook his head patronizingly and deflected her blow lazily. "Damn it, attack me! I know how to defend fairly well!" Susan protested, getting more annoyed by the second.

"Oh, really?" Darius smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're being just as annoying and obnoxious as you were during your interrogation," Susan said exasperatedly.

"A talent I excel at, your majesty" Darius said with a mocking bow, infuriatingly managing to still deflect her sword while doing so.

"Attack me!" Susan shrieked.

"Your wish is my command, beauty queen," Darius said patronizingly. He faked to the left and then went to the right. Susan saw surprise on his face as she blocked it and smirked.

"What? Didn't think a beauty queen could defend herself?" she teased.

"But of course a beauty queen could defend herself. Got to keep her pretty face intact," Darius taunted, pushing her sword back with his towards her face. Susan kept her mouth shut to keep him from getting more ammunition for teasing her even though she did not want her face scratched, but he then pulled out and did some fancy trick with his sword to make her drop her sword. Darius quickly reached down to grab the sword. Susan then tripped over him and fell on top of him. Darius wrapped his arms around her so he could pull her aside, to make sure she wouldn't accidentally step or roll onto the sword while getting up. Somehow Susan ended up on top of him, his arms still around her and her hands on his strong chest. They were both panting and sweating. Their lips were merely inches apart.

* * *

Lucy skipped down the stairs. She had actually been ready to be not only on time but even _early_, but then Edmund walked past and began chatting with her. She wanted to cut their conversation short, but she couldn't make it too suspicious, now could she? If she looked like she was trying to get out of talking with him, he'd ask to many question! Yikes! Ahh, then she finally got passed him, just to be stopped by her dearest friend ever Mr. Tumnus. She just couldn't pass by him without a word!

Then finally she got out of the castle and changed her outfit to get ready. She ran to where she believed Susan and Darius would be practicing. When she ran in, she gasped from shock. There was her sister, hair in disarray and flushed face, lying with her hands on the chest of Darius who was holding her up around the waist. Lucy took a step back in shock, and then began backing out, to go get someone who would know what to do. Sure, Lucy thought they made a cute couple, but this was simply scandalous!


	18. A Bit of Fun

"Queen Lucy!" Darius called out the moment he noticed the young girl looking agape at them and backing out of the room. He quickly let go of Susan, giving her a slight push left because the sword was on his right and he didn't want her to get hurt.

"What are you doing with my sister?" she shrieked, pulling out her dagger.

Darius quickly stood up and bowed. "Your majesty, I swear, we just tripped while practicing."

"Indeed!" Susan said, a bit too emphatically. Darius grabbed her hands to help her to her feet. She smiled gratefully until she remembered her sister was still there with her dagger out and quickly blushed and pulled her hands away.

"Your majesty, you were late for practice," Darius said, hoping to change the subject from the awkward embrace she just caught him in with her sister.

"Excuse me, I'm not a little girl. I can tell you are trying to distract me," Lucy said, glaring at him.

"Lu, _nothing_ happened. We started practicing, he got the sword out of my hand, and I tripped over him while he was picking up my sword," Susan explained, finger-combing her hair to try to look a bit more presentable.

"Mmhmm," Lucy said suspiciously, but she put her dagger away anyways.

"Alright," Darius said quickly, grabbing a light sword and holding it out to Lucy. "You'll be using this sword. We've wasted enough time. If you're serious about wanting to get good at this, we need to maximize usage of our few practice times."

* * *

After several weeks of practice, Susan noticed Darius giving the two of them an appraising look while he was watching them swordfight against each other.

"Yes?" she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You know, if you were anyone else, the two of you would have no problem getting into the royal army," he said approvingly. Susan blushed and looked away.

Lucy grinned widely. "Really? You mean it?"

"Well I'm not exactly the type to hand out unwarranted compliments," Darius said. "Alright, you girls should start heading back before you're missed."

"Actually, I haven't practiced any archery in awhile and have nothing on my schedule, so how about the two of you head back? Don't worry about cleaning up, I've got it," Lucy said a bit too sweetly.

Darius and Susan exchanged awkward looks. Susan was a bit nervous about someone catching the two of them alone, but said, "Um, alright, I guess. C'mon Darius."

Darius dutifully followed, even though he clearly seemed uncomfortable.

"Darius, do you really think it's so imperative we do not act friendly in public?" Susan inquired.

"It's not like we act unfriendly," Darius trailed off.

"But, it seems only natural I would be good friends with the knight my brothers trust so," Susan said, placing a hand on his arm.

"I'm not a knight," Darius muttered, turning a bit pink.

"Not yet," Susan said with a small smile. "I'm sure once you've proven that you've made up for your past, you will deserve knighthood."

"So never, because that is an impossible task," Darius said flatly. Susan grabbed his hand and made him turn to face her.

"No, it is not," she said firmly, caressing her thumb against his hardened hands.

"I don't think you all realize just how much I've done. I've lied, I've stolen, and I've killed. I even used to enjoy all that. No matter what I do, it could never make up for everything I've done. I know that," Darius said, tightly grasping her wrists.

"No! I realize what you done, and I agree – it's horrifying. But notice how everything you said is in the past tense. That's not you anymore. You still have those skills, but not the hardened heart. And with using those skills for good, you can make up for everything. You must stop thinking that you can't and concentrate on making up for it," Susan said emphatically.

Darius just shook his head ruefully. "No, nothing can make up for it. But don't worry, that doesn't meaning I'm not trying. Anything I can do to just make up for even the littlest bit of it."

Susan, hoping to lift the somber mood, gave a wry smile and lightly slapped him, saying "How dare you!"

He looked at her wildly.

She tossed her hair haughtily and said, "You dared to contradict your queen."

Darius laughed and said, "And now I dare… to tickle her!" Susan shrieked and ran ahead of him, but he quickly overtook her and grabbed her with one arm around her waist, using the other hand to tickle her.

"Darius!" she shrieked, pleased that he was in a better mood. She tickled him back and he laughed. Suddenly he stopped.

"What was that about?" she said crossly.

"Your brother's here and he did not look happy about seeing us together," Darius said worriedly.

Susan turned and saw Edmund walking swiftly towards them, a frown apparent on his face.

"Oh, hi Ed," Susan said, still trying to recover from the tickle battle.

"Your majesty," said Darius formally with a bow, trying to placate Edmund. Edmund barely even glanced at him.

"I'll ask you what _that_ was all about at a later time. Susan, Peter needs you straightaway. You'll find out when you get there," Edmund said.

"Alright," Susan sighed.

"Darius, go find my other sister. We need her as well," Edmund said.

"Yes, sire," Darius said, glad of the excuse to get away from what was sure to turn into an awkward situation. He ran off in the wrong direction on purpose, planning to double back.

"Susan, so while we walk… what was that?" Edmund said sternly.

"I'm not about to be scolded by my younger brother," Susan said.

"Would you rather I tell Peter and let him–"

"No! And besides, what's to tell?"

"You and Darius were tickling each other? You too aren't even really friends," Edmund said suspiciously.

"Alright, he was acting very negatively about his ability to ever negate his past, and I was trying to cheer him up! What's wrong with that?" Susan said defensively, purposely leaving out some details.

"Next time, try cheering up with something a lot less, you know…" Edmund said.

* * *

A few weeks later, Susan was about driven out of her mind! She had not one, but two suitors simultaneously trying to take up all her time, her regular queenly duties, and a royal Christmas ball to plan. She would have passed off more of it onto Lucy, but now Lucy also had a suitor trying to take up way too much of her time. She ran down the stairs, realizing she had forgotten about the castle security meeting for the ball. She ran down the stairs so fast that she slipped over some water on the steps.

She was caught by warm, strong arms.

"Your majesty," said Darius. Susan put her hands on his shoulders to straighten herself and he let go of her. _How does he always manage to show up at the right moment?_ "I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there earlier."

"Huh?" Susan said in confusion. She then noticed he had cleaning supplies with him and had been cleaning the stairs. "Oh! Right… Thank you for catching me though." She then hugged him tightly.

"Um, your majesty? Are you alright?" Darius asked, awkwardly patting her with one hand.

"Just a bit… overextended at the moment," she sighed. "Darius, are you not meant to be at the security meeting? Why are you cleaning of all things?"

"When I'm not on guard duty or training, I'm often asked to do other things," he said with a shrug. "And it's not like I really have a choice to refuse. And as for the ball, it seems your brother wants me to serve in a more visible role so he put me on serving food and drinks. I think Peter wants to show off to the other countries that if they send assassins after you four, why, then he'll just turn them into servants," he said, waving his hands around as though he was Peter with some magical wand that turned assassins into servants.

Susan giggled. "It sounds so much more impressive that way. And thank you."

"For what, your majesty?"

"For making me laugh."

* * *

Darius was replenishing a platter of drinks when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Ask me to dance with you," Susan insisted.

"You majesty, I couldn't," he protested, even though it was an Archenlander song, so he was familiar with the steps.

"I command it. And you would not dare to disobey your queen's command," Susan said haughtily, but with a teasing glint in her eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't dare to even dream of disobeying you. Will you dance with me, my queen?" Darius said teasingly, taking her hand and kissing it. They spun around on the dance floor to several odd looks from the guests at the ball. Darius wasn't sure how many were wondering why the queen was dancing with a servant versus how many knew his reputation and was really wondering why the queen would deign to dance with him. He was kinda wondering too. One of the Calormene guests was staring at him with interest and a bit of something else Darius couldn't quite place.

"You dance rather well," Susan said.

"When I have an excellent dance partner," Darius responded gallantly.

"And yet you seem uncomfortable."

"Several people are watching us. Um, including both of your brothers," Darius said nervously.

"My brothers can't be upset with you for obeying me when I commanded you to ask me. They should only get upset at me," Susan pointed out. Darius wasn't so sure about that. He was pretty sure if they were going to get upset, it would be against him, not her.

As the dance ended, he bowed and kissed her hand again. "Thank you for the dance, milady."

"It was my pleasure. Thank you," Susan said with a small curtsy.

On Darius' way back, the foreign guest he had noticed staring at him approached him.

"I request to speak with you privately."

"I have work I need to do," Darius said uncertainly, picking up an emptied plate to return to the kitchen. To his surprise, the Calormen followed him.

"Many find is strange that the queen whose beauty inspires even the dimmest poets would allow one such as… _you_ in her gracious presence, much less the glorious opportunity to dance with one such as she. One would not think that the magnificent High King would permit an active mercenary near his precious jewel, his sister. " the Calormen said.

"_Former _mercenary. I've reformed. I no longer do any work like that at all," Darius said, gritting his teeth.

"Including thievery?" the Calormen asked.

Darius tried to refrain from rolling his eyes. "I haven't stolen anything from here. I would never steal from them. Is that why you're following me? To accuse me of stealing something?!"

The guest seemed to be musing over something. "You have not recognized me," the guest said suddenly, more of a statement than a question. "You and an accursed partner thief stole a painting from my house. I saw the two of you and, in a ill-advised attempt, engaged the two of you in a fight. I lost swiftly and your partner wanted no witnesses. He would have killed me if you had not chosen to show mercy."

The Calormen looked around, and then leaned in close to Darius ear, whispering, "The assassin three months ago was only a ruse. And to see if your taking the position here was part of some plan of yours or not. So just…make sure your family is safe next Saturday. And now I've repaid you for sparing my life."


	19. Attacked

"Sires," Darius said, bowing.

"You wished to speak to me privately about some request?" Peter asked, gesturing towards an open chair. Edmund was also in the room, but made no movement to leave.

"Yes, your majesties," Darius said, sitting down. He explained the strange warning the Calormen had told him. Peter and Edmund shared an uneasy look.

"I assume your request is their safety?" Peter said. Darius nodded. "Hmm, I'd rather not cause mass panic by making this public knowledge. I'm traveling to the Lone Islands on Thursday. I can bring the older girl along with me. I haven't selected someone to be a scribe for it yet, and she'll do fine. Pheneus of course will be traveling with me as well. But the youngest and Lisette…"

"Lisette's usually in the nursery most of the day on Saturdays," Darius said.

"It's already well guarded, but I'll have the guards in the halls around the nursery doubled," Edmund said. "That leaves the youngest child though?"

"Helena."

"I'll tell Lucy what is going on. Lucy loves spending time with children. I'll tell her to go visit the Beavers that day or something," Peter concluded. "Ed, make the guards around the nursery ones you can trust to keep the reason for the increased guard quiet and tell them to try to be as unnoticed as possible."

"I'll see to it at once," Edmund said, eager to please his brother. He started getting up, but Peter raised a hand for him to wait a few seconds more.

"Let's keep it as secret as possible. We want to trap whomever it is that is sent," Peter said. "But Darius, you have been rather quiet?"

"Sire, I just… thank you," Darius said. "I didn't expect you to be so willing to help my family."

"All who live in Cair Paravel are under our protection. And we could never let innocent children be killed," Peter said, grasping Darius' forearm. Darius bowed his head in gratitude.

* * *

Lisette was working a shift in the nursery that next Saturday when one of the children in the nursery was getting rather fussy. Lisette decided to take him outside for some fresh air.

"There we go. Mmm, little Badger likes the fresh air, don't you dearie," she cooed.

She looked down the terrace and saw three men walking up to the castle gates. She almost turned away, uninterested by the visitors who were always coming and leaving the castle. But then she took a second look and was so shocked and terrified that she nearly dropped the small badger. She ran inside to drop off the badger and ran to find her brother as quickly as possible.

* * *

Edmund was taking a midday nap. He had been on patrol all night, assuming a nighttime attack either before dawn or after dusk was most probable. He woke up to a ruckus outside his room. He grabbed his sword and pulled it from its sheath. He flung the door open and saw the two guards being attacked by three men. Edmund instantly began fighting. He had gotten much better at fighting against humans, thanks to having a human train him.

"Your majesty, get to safety!" one of the guards yelled.

"I can't leave you two to die!" Edmund exclaimed, getting a job in against one of the intruders. While fighting, he realized that the intruders were trying to kill the guards, but holding back when fighting him. Edmund quickly put the pieces together and realized that he was their target. With that realization, he took more risks in his fighting style, knowing that they would shy from anything fatal. But to no avail. He felt something strike the back of his head – hard – and blankness took over his vision as he fell to the floor.

* * *

Darius was patrolling the gardens when Susan and the Terebinthian Lord walked by. Darius failed to hide a grimace.

"It is a beautiful garden, my lady, but it pales in comparison to you," the lord complimented her, picking up her hand and kissing it.

Darius had to resist a smug grin when Susan yawned. The lord probably took it as a sigh of delight, but Darius knew her well enough to know she was completely bored. She glanced over to him while the lord was inspecting some flower and mouthed, _Shoot me._ Darius smirked.

"Darius, Darius!" a voice shrieked. He turned to see Lisette running towards him, her hair in disarray and looking terrified. Darius ran towards her. Susan managed to detach herself from the lord and ran over as well, the lord hurriedly attempting to follow her, looking ridiculous with his cloak tangling itself around him.

"Halgor, Taire, and someone else are here," she cried. Darius' eyes widened in fright. He grabbed his sister's hand.

"Your majesty, we need to get you somewhere safe!" he said grabbing Susan's hand with his free hand.

"What? Who are?" Susan exclaimed, but she ran along anyways, not even protesting him dragging her.

"Mercenaries," Darius said with a snarl. "Halgor is absolutely brutal, kills everyone who might witness his actions."

"Are they who we were warned about? We need to get to the nursery!" Susan said, pulling them in the other direction.

"Your majesty, they'll just attack you too!" Darius protested.

"I've got to go help!" Susan insisted.

As they passed by the guards at the entrance, Darius shouted to them, "Sound the alarm!"

The guards looked wildly towards the queen and she nodded.

"Lisette, stay and give them the description of who they need to look for!" Darius said, running ahead with Susan. After about a minute he heard bells ringing everywhere, warning of intruders.

_Aslan,_ Darius thought, _I don't really believe in you, but all the Narnians and my family do, so if you do exist, please protect them!_

* * *

"Lisette, you need to stay with us if you're a potential target," Pullinick, a dwarf, said.

"I understand," Lisette said, remarkably calmly. "Might I have another weapon with which to defend myself? I prefer a mace personally, if that's available."

The dwarf and tiger exchanged looks. "Don't you work in the nursery? How the heck would you know how to use a mace?" the dwarf exclaimed.

"You might be surprised," Lisette said, still managing to keep calm. The dwarf and tiger still seemed unconvinced.

"Um… well…"

"Over there!" Lisette suddenly shouted. She saw Taire, one of the intruders which she was familiar with. She grabbed the dwarf's sword from him and ran up to Taire.

"Lisette!" Taire exclaimed, fighting her off. "C'mon, I don't really wanna kill you if I don't have to."

"But maybe _I_ wanna kill _you_," Lisette snarled. Taire looked unsurprised by her ferocity. "Where are the other two attackers?"

Taire smirked. "Getting away. I'm supposed to meet them, but fighting me will only delay, not stop them."

"Will killing you stop them?" Lisette said sarcastically. The tiger was helping her fight now. Lisette wasn't really sure how to fight with a tiger at one's side, but they made fairly good fighting partners, especially since Taire had no clue how to fight against a tiger and wasn't too eager about fighting her.

"Nope, so how about we just stop fighting and part as friends?" Taire said hopefully. Lisette glared at him.

"Not a chance! You threatened my family," Lisette hissed. The dwarf had finally found another weapon and helped fight. Lisette soon had Taire on the ground with a sword at his throat.

"Now. Where are the other two attackers?" she hissed.

Taire's eyes widened. "The North Gate. We planned to run north before doubling back and going South."

* * *

The dwarf stayed to watch the captive, while Lisette and the tiger ran to the North Gate. As they passed some of the knights and guards, they shouted out the information. Soon there was a small force behind them.

"It's damaged," the tiger snarled. "They already got away."

"We have to follow them!" Lisette said, running out.

One of the centaurs ran up and restrained her. "No! You need to stay here. Birds! Spread out in each direction, the majority of you heading north. Send up a cry the moment you spot them."

"Lisette!" a voice called. She turned her head and saw Susan, followed by several guards, running up to her. The centaur released her and Susan ran up and hugged her.

"You're alright!" she said.

"My daughters?" Lisette asked worriedly.

"They're safe. We have that entire area on lockdown right now and all guards are on alert. Darius is with them," Susan assured her. "Some of the guards said there was a brief attack, but the attackers ran away when they realized they were wildly outnumbered. A few made a chase, but the attackers got away."

"We got one of them, your majesty. Pullinick is guarding him," Lisette said.

"Oh! Good, you three, go find them and throw the attacker in the dungeons," Susan commanded.

Suddenly, they heard birds calling. A hawk and a blackbird were carrying a dying dove between themselves.

"That way!" the hawk called, gesturing with his wing. "They shot her."

"Your majesty," the dove called out in a raspy voice. "They have your brother. They have King Edmund."

With that, the dove died. The Narnians all grabbed their weapons and ran out in hopes of saving their beloved king.


End file.
